Listed firm takes on £400m shareholder claim against Petrofac
The oil giant has been subject to an SFO probe since 2017
February 12, 2019 at 07:34 AM
2 minute read
Keystone Law is advising a group of institutional shareholders on a litigation claim expected to be in excess of £400m, against listed oil giant Petrofac.
The shareholders, who are being funded by Innsworth Litigation Funding, are claiming that they suffered substantial losses arising from Petrofac's alleged involvement in bribery, corruption and money laundering after the company failed to disclose key information about its business performance and prospects and allegedly issued misleading or false statements.
The team, led by senior Keystone litigators George Lambrou, Matthew Reach and Robert Lawrie, is advising the shareholders, including major UK and US pensions funds, on the claim.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) confirmed in May 2017 that it was investigating the FTSE 250 company due to "suspected bribery, corruption and money laundering" as part of an investigation into similar allegations against Monaco-based Unaoil.
Petrofac's share price fell by about 50% during May, in the wake of a series of SFO announcements relating to investigations into specific Petrofac individuals.
Last week (7 February), David Lufkin, the former global head of sales at Petrofac, pleaded guilty to offering corrupt payments in an attempt to secure contracts in Saudi Arabia worth $3.5bn (£2.7bn) and contracts in Iraq worth $730m (£566m).
In a statement after the case, the company said: "Petrofac confirms that no charges have been brought against any group company or any other officers or employees. Although not charged, a number of Petrofac individuals and entities are alleged to have acted together with the individual concerned. No current board member of Petrofac Limited is alleged to have been involved."
In 2018, Simmons & Simmons' crime, fraud and investigations head Stephen Gentle and partner Nick Benwell were brought in to defend Petrofac during the SFO probe, replacing Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
Freshfields had been working alongside KPMG since April 2016, when the SFO made its first allegations against the energy giant. Ashurst litigation partner and City of London Law Society chair Edward Sparrow was also drafted in to advise the oil giant.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
MoFo Launches in Amsterdam: Exclusive Interview with Global Chair Eric McCrath
2 minute read
Clifford Chance Boosts Private Credit Offering With Mayer Brown Partner Duo
2 minute read
Ex-Mayer Brown Corporate Lawyer Leads Race for German Chancellor in Snap Election
4 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Courts, Lawyers Press On With Business as SoCal Wildfires Rage
- 2Florida, a Political Epicenter, Is the Site of Brownstein Hyatt's 13th Office
- 3Law Firms Close Southern California Offices Amid Devastating Wildfires
- 4Lawsuit alleges racial and gender discrimination led to an Air Force contractor's death at California airfield
- 5Holland & Knight Picks Up 8 Private Wealth Lawyers in Los Angeles
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
