TheCable

China’s state-owned Addax Petroleum has agreed to pay a 31 million Swiss francs ($32 million) fine in Geneva, Switzerland, to settle charges of suspected bribes given to Nigerian officials.

The payment comes at the end of a four-month old investigation, which uncovered the illegality in the payments.

According to THISDAY, the Geneva prosecutor’s office, which investigated Addax Petroleum, had also confirmed the criminal investigation into allegations concerning its operation in Nigeria.

The investigation had led to the arrest of the company’s chief executive officer of its Geneva Office, Zhang Yi, and the legal director, who were also charged over several millions of dollars in payments to an unnamed company and several lawyers in Nigeria.

Reuters quoted the Geneva Prosecutor’s Office as saying in a statement yesterday that the four-month investigation found that the payments were not sufficiently documented and doubts remained on their legality.

The statement, however, added that no criminal intent was established against Addax Petroleum, which was bought in 2009 by China’s state-owned Sinopec, Asia’s largest oil refiner and third largest in the world.

The Geneva Prosecutor’s Office said that Addax acknowledged possible organisational shortcomings and had taken measures to improve internal anti-corruption procedures.

Addax said in an emailed statement that its CEO had resumed his duties, while its chief legal officer retired on June 30.

“Addax Petroleum is committed to conducting its business with the highest level of integrity, and in full compliance with applicable laws, regulations and industry standards,” the company said in a statement.

Nigerian crude for August loading is said to be proving slow to find buyers amid rising supply, as an increase in production in the two countries, is adding to the glut in the global market, despite the OPEC-led cut.