Worley shares tumble further amid Ecuador corruption allegations

The news: Shares in Worley have tumbled further after it was revealed an arbitration tribunal ruled the engineering group’s conduct in relation to a service contract dispute in Ecuador amounted to corruption. Worley denies any wrongdoing and says it “did not breach anti-bribery and corruption laws”.

The numbers: Worley shares were trading nearly 4.5% lower at $15.79 in early trading on the ASX on Thursday. The stock had been in a trading halt for the last two sessions before resuming trading late on Wednesday, when it dropped over 2%.

The context: Worley had sued Ecuador in 2019 claiming missing payments from contracts with state-run Petroecuador related to the renovation of the Esmeraldas refinery and other gas projects, following allegations of wrongdoing and corruption by the government. The Australian company on Wednesday admitted the principals of its subcontractor were found to be corrupt by an Ecuadorian court, and said following an investigation that revealed wrongdoing on part of the subcontractor, it has terminated its relationship with them.