The Australian Federal Police has confirmed it is conducting investigations into foreign bribery matters linked to a number of Australian companies, following allegations of foreign bribery linked to the Monaco-based firm Unaoil.
On Wednesday Fairfax Media and the Huffington Post revealed a cache of internal emails that alleged that the Monaco based Unaoil had bribed officials in order to gain government oil contracts.
The company has denied, in a statement to Fairfax Media, that any bribes occurred.
The investigation also revealed Leighton Offshore and other Australian companies’ links to Unaoil, sparking renewed scrutiny about the firm’s offshore activities.
On Friday a spokeswoman for the AFP said: “Australian agencies are aware of allegations of the involvement of a number of Australian companies in foreign bribery matters. As the AFP is conducting ongoing investigations into a number of these allegations, it would not be appropriate to provide any further comment in this regard.”
A number of international law agencies are now looking into Unaoil’s business ventures and allegations of foreign bribery. On Friday authorities in Monaco issued a statement that said they had raided the headquarters of Unaoil after a request for assistance from the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office.
“These searches and interviews were carried out in the presence of British officials as part of a vast, international corruption scandal implicating numerous foreign oil industry firms. The information collected is going to be examined by the British authorities as part of their investigation,” it said.
