SAExploration Holdings Inc. has fired its general counsel and replaced its CEO and chairman as the Securities and Exchange Commission investigates the Houston-based international oilfield services company's financial statements. 

The firm announced the probe Aug. 15, a day before it filed an 8-K form with the SEC notifying investors that its top lawyer and chief financial officer, Brent Whiteley, had been terminated.  

Kevin Hubbard, a partner at the Houston accounting firm of Ham, Langston & Brezina, is serving as interim CFO, replacing Whiteley. SAExploration has hired the firm for consulting services as the SEC investigation unfolds. Attempts to speak with Hubbard, Whiteley and a representative for SAExploration were unsuccessful. 

Whiteley joined SAExploration in 2011 after having worked at French oil company CGGVeritas for nearly 11 years. He joined CGG as general counsel for the western hemisphere and was promoted in 2008 to senior vice president. 

He states on his LinkedIn profile that he helped CGG through the economic downturn and also negotiated "joint ventures in Colombia, Peru and Brazil to reduce operational and financial exposure and to grow the available market for the business in countries where the business had not previously been operating."

Another apparent casualty of the investigation is SAExploration CEO and chairman Jeff Hastings, who has been placed on administrative leave and has resigned from the board, according to the SEC filing. 

Hastings' replacement, Michael Faust, who was serving as lead independent director of the board before he was named chairman and interim president, stated that SAExploration had "taken swift action on each of these matters and will continue to do so until they are resolved." Faust also serves as interim president and CEO of Obsidian Energy Ltd. in Calgary, Canada. 

SAExploration told investors that it was reissuing its financial statements for 2015 through 2019, because the original filings "should no longer be relied upon" as the company reevaluates its relationship with Alaska Seismic Ventures. 

SAExploration determined it had a controlling financial interest in ASV, a variable interest entity, and was "required it to consolidate ASV during the nonreliance periods in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.

"As a result of the above, the company has determined that a material weakness exists in the company's internal control over financial reporting and that disclosure controls and procedures were ineffective during the non-reliance periods," SAExploration added. 

The company also noted that it was "in discussions with holders of a majority of its outstanding debt, as to whether or not there are defaults under the debt agreements, with the goal of agreeing to a path forward in a way that is constructive for the company, its shareholders and employees, and the debt holders." 

SAExploration's stock plunged by more than 34% in the wake of the announcement, which has spurred shareholder securities class action lawsuits. 

The company states on its website that it has 2,000 employees in 10 countries and offers a "full range of vertically-integrated seismic data acquisition and logistical support services in remote and complex environments throughout Alaska, Canada, South America, Southeast Asia and Africa."