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BP-Azerbaijan to stop agreement with contractor company, mentioned in bribery scandal

10 July 2012 10:02 (UTC +04:00)

The oil giant is understood to have been in contact with SFO investigators over the bribery allegations relating to engineering projects one of its contractors is undertaking in the west Asian state.

The contractor, as yet unnamed, self-reported the allegation of bribery to the SFO after it came to light last year. Although there is no suggestion bribes were paid by BP employees, the oil major could be liable if the contractor is found to be culpable. If the wrongdoing took place after July 1 last year both BP and the contractor could be prosecuted under the Bribery Act. The act makes a company criminally liable for acts undertaken by its employees, its agents and contractors. No company has yet been prosecuted by the SFO under the Act although a number of investigations are understood to be ongoing. The investigation by the SFO is the second BP has faced in recent months. As The Daily Telegraph reported in March BP is investigating allegations one of its senior tanker chartering executives received backhanders to influence the allocation of shipping contracts. The SFO is also taking a preliminary look at the allegations.

Tamam Bayatli, a spokeswoman for the company in the Azeri capital of Baku, touched upon this issue: â€˜An unnamed contractor company informed BP that it violated the Code of Conduct of BP. As we know, that company told this information to controller bodies itselfâ€™.

In connection with this, BP decided to stop cooperation with that company.