The Serious Fraud Office has launched an investigation into a company run by a major Conservative donor who is one of the prime minister’s business ambassadors.
Petrofac, which provides services to the oil and gas industry, is being investigated by the SFO over suspected bribery, corruption and money laundering.
Its chief executive, Ayman Asfari, and his wife have given the Tories more than £700,000 since 2009, with the party receiving £40,000 last December. The Syrian-born businessman has been questioned under caution by the SFO, along with another member of Petrofac’s senior management team.
Asfari is a member of the leader’s group, an elite set of donors who give the Conservative party at least £50,000 a year and are invited to join the prime minister and other senior Tories at dinners. As a business ambassador, Asfari can carry out meetings on behalf of the British government while travelling overseas and also lead trade missions.
According to the government’s website, he is entitled to hold one-to-one meetings with senior government ministers and host “high-level incoming visitors”. There are 44 business ambassadors, including Douglas Flint, the chairman of HSBC, and Natalie Massenet, the founder of fashion retailer Net-a-Porter.
The investigation is part of the SFO’s inquiry into Unaoil, a Monaco-based firm that has been accused of corruptly securing contracts for multinationals. Unaoil has denied any wrongdoing.
Petrofac employed Unaoil for consultancy work in Kazakhstan between 2002 and 2009. Unaoil was also hired to work in various parts of the world by the British engineering company Rolls-Royce, which recently admitted corruption and bribery after an SFO investigation.
A spokesman for Petrofac said the company had been notified by the SFO that the investigation had begun, adding: “The company is cooperating with the authorities.”
Petrofac had previously brought in lawyers and auditors to examine its links to Unaoil. After investigations by law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and accountants KPMG last summer, Petrofac said “no evidence was found that any director of the company was aware of the alleged misconduct”. It then shared its findings with the SFO.
An SFO spokesman confirmed it was investigating “the activities of Petrofac PLC, its subsidiaries, and their officers, employees and agents for suspected bribery, corruption and money laundering”.
Petrofac has 31 offices around the world and 13,500 staff, and operates in countries including Algeria, Iraq and Abu Dhabi. Asfari joined the company in 1991 and bought it out 10 years later, becoming chief executive in 2002. The chief operating officer, Marwan Chedid, has also been interviewed under caution by SFO investigators.
According to its website, Petrofac is focused on Africa and the Middle East. Most of its clients are national oil companies, including Saudi Aramco.
Last year, the company’s revenues were $7.9bn (£6.1bn). Petrofac’s share price fell around 15% after the SFO announced its investigation. Forbes magazine has calculated Asfari’s worth to be about $970m.
A Conservative party spokesman said: “All donations to the Conservative party are properly and transparently declared to the Electoral Commission, published by them, and comply fully with the law.”
