Worley facing prosecution, class action threats amid corruption allegations
The $9 billion engineering company will likely be investigated by the AFP over allegations a former subcontractor bribed Ecuadorian officials.
Engineering giant Worley faces criminal prosecution and civil lawsuits, an anti-corruption legal expert has warned, as an Ecuadorian bribery scandal envelops the ASX-listed company.
An international tribunal in late December denied the company’s arbitration claim of nearly USD500 million ($700 million) from state-owned companies on the basis it had been involved in “conduct amounting to corruption”.
The ruling, first reported by The Australian newspaper and obtained by Capital Brief, found Worley illegally bribed Ecuadorian government officials with gifts in a bid to win oil and gas contracts as part of a “widespread pattern of illegality and bad faith”.
Worley denies any wrongdoing and says it “did not breach anti-bribery and corruption laws”.
