The Court of Appeal has overturned the conviction of Aberdeen oil boss Stephen Whiteley, the third such reversal for cases stemming from the Unaoil scandal.
A court had previously found Mr Whiteley guilty of paying bribes of $500,000 (more than £418,000) to Iraqi officials in order to win a $55 million (£46 million) contract for his Monaco-based employer Unaoil to supply oil infrastructure.
After being found guilty in 2020, he was ordered in November 2021 to repay criminal gains of almost £100,000.
Damning review
But a damning review (Calvert Smith) into the conduct of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has led to the Court of Appeal quashing the case, following similar results for other former Unaoil and SBM Offshore executives linked to it.
Mr Whiteley’s lawyers said he had co-operated with the Unaoil investigation but seen his health suffer because of the case.
Sam Healey, partner at JMW Solicitors representing him, said the matter had “cast a dark cloud over Mr Whiteley’s life for several years, been the catalyst for a series of health concerns, caused immense financial strain, and weighed heavily on his partner and the rest of his family.
He added: “Today’s news means Mr Whiteley can now begin to live his life again and we wish both him and his family all the best for the future.”
An SFO representative said the agency had not contested the appeal, adding: “Our investigation into Unaoil uncovered the payment of $17m (£14.2m) in bribes that were paid to win contracts worth $1.7bn (£1.4 billion) in Iraq and we’re proud to have exposed this serious wrongdoing.”
Aberdeen exec’s case is three in a row for Unaoil
The Court of Appeal freed Paul Bond in March this year and Ziad Akle in December 2021. The turning point was the case of Mr Akle, with the court ruling his conviction was unsafe. Mr Bond was a senior sales manager at SBM Offshore, while Mr Akle was Unaoil’s Iraq manager.
The court has flagged up shortcomings of the SFO, with Attorney General Suella Braverman launching a review of its conduct in February.
He described SFO head Lisa Osofsky as being unprepared for taking over the role.
Ms Osofsky was required to take decisions on the Unaoil case within days of starting, he said, adding she had faced a “difficult situation very early in her tenure and made a number of mistakes and misjudgements.”
Susan Hawley, executive director at Spotlight on Corruption, said it was a “grim day” for the SFO.
“The catalogue of errors laid out in the Calvert Smith review shows the quashing of yet another conviction in the Unaoil case was entirely avoidable. The very serious failings at the top of the organisation, including use of personal mobiles for sensitive business, failure to record meetings and the sidelining of the SFO’s legal counsel as well as case team, must never be allowed to happen again.”
