LONDON -- BP PLC (BP.LN) may face charges from the U.K.'s main
anti-bribery agency due to a new, stricter U.K. corruption law that
could make the oil giant liable for alleged wrongdoing by one of
its contractors, the Daily Telegraph reports Monday.
Investigators from the Serious Fraud Office have contacted BP
over bribery allegations relating to engineering projects one of
its contractors is undertaking in Azerbaijan, the Telegraph
reports, without citing sources. The paper doesn't identify the
contractor.
BP and the SFO both declined to comment on the
investigation.
According to the Telegraph, the contractor self-reported the
allegation to the SFO after it was discovered. Although no BP
employees are believed to have paid bribes, the oil company could
face prosecution if the alleged wrongdoing took place after July 1
when the new Bribery Act came into force. The revised law makes a
firm criminally liable for acts undertaken by its employees, its
agents and contractors.
BP is a major investor in the giant $25 billion Shah Deniz
project to develop and pipe natural gas from the Caspian Sea to
western Europe. However, the SFO investigation pertains to previous
work oil and gas pipeline engineering work BP has undertaken in the
west Asian state, the Telegraph reports.
By Alexis Flynn, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 207842 9471,
alexis.flynn@dowjones.com