Bridge-building firm, Mabey & Johnson, accused of breaching United Nations sanctions has became the first company to be prosecuted by Britain for overseas corruption, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said.
Reuters yesterday reported that Mabey & Johnson has been charged over a voluntary disclosure to the SFO that the company had tried to influence decision-makers for contracts in Jamaica and Ghana between 1993 and 2001. Mabey & Johnson was a co-contractor for the Berbice River Bridge in Guyana. Reuters said the company was charged over applications for contracts under the Iraq oil-for-food programme in 2001/02 in breach of UN sanctions.
The news agency said that at a hearing at London’s Westminster Magistrates Court yesterday, the company indicated it would plead guilty to the offences.
Five of the company’s eight directors stepped down in early 2008 after the company approached the SFO to say it may have engaged in corrupt practices and a new management team was installed, Reuters reported.
“We deeply regret the past conduct of our company, and we have committed to making a fresh start, wiping the slate clean of these offences,” the firm’s new Managing Director Peter Lloyd said in a statement.
“At a hearing expected later this year, the court may order the company to pay a financial penalty, as well as the costs of an independent monitor and legal costs.
“We have also agreed to pay appropriate compensation as a further expression of our regret.”
Reuters reported Lloyd as saying that said his firm’s actions could act as a template for others.
SFO Director Richard Alderman said in a statement: “These are serious offences and it is significant that Mabey & Johnson has cooperated with us to get to this landmark point.”
“This has enabled this case to be dealt with in just over a year and is a model for other companies who want to self-report corruption and have it dealt with quickly and fairly by the SFO.”
Reuters said that the case has now been transferred to London’s Southwark Crown Court for sentencing at a later date.
