Labour calls on Conservatives to return six-figure donation from CEO of company facing corruption probe
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Labour has called on the Conservatives to return hundreds of
thousands of pounds in donations from the former CEO of a UK-based
company under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) for
suspected bribery, corruption and money-laundering. Ayman Asfari,
chief executive of oil firm Petrofac for almost twenty years until
the end of 2020, and his wife Sawsan donated almost £900,000 to the
Conservative Party between 2009 and 2017. The last of those
donations were made on 4...Request free
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Labour has called on the Conservatives to return hundreds of thousands of pounds in donations from the former CEO of a UK-based company under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) for suspected bribery, corruption and money-laundering. Ayman Asfari, chief executive of oil firm Petrofac for almost twenty years until the end of 2020, and his wife Sawsan donated almost £900,000 to the Conservative Party between 2009 and 2017. The last of those donations were made on 4 May 2017, just days before the SFO launched an investigation into the firm. Asfari was recently described by Petrofac as “the public face of the company” and “the personification of its achievements”. He continues to be a major shareholder and sits on the Petrofac board as a non-executive director. Anneliese Dodds MP, Chair of the Labour Party, has written to her counterpart Amanda Milling to ask the Conservatives to return the money in light of the SFO investigation and Asfari’s continued connection to Petrofac. It follows media reports that the SFO has widened its investigation into Petrofac amid allegations that million-pound bribes were paid over more than fifteen years to secure contracts in nine countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. David Lufkin, a former senior Petrofac official, has already pleaded guilty to working with Petrofac employees to offer or pay bribes totalling $80m (£57m) to win contracts worth a total of $7.5bn in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates. Anneliese Dodds MP, Labour Party Chair, said: “The Conservatives must explain why they accepted so much cash from Ayman Asfari – a man described by the scandal-hit Petrofac as “the personification of many of its achievements”. “The public will also be wondering why senior Tory ministers – including a sitting Prime Minister – then lobbied on behalf of this company, which is now under investigation for bribery and corruption. “This is about the company that the Conservatives are keeping and where they’re getting their money from. They should do the right thing and hand back that cash.” Ends Notes to editors
Dear Amanda, On 20 June 2021, The Guardian reported that the ongoing Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation into suspected bribery, corruption and money laundering at the UK-based oil firm Petrofac had been widened. Allegations include million-pound bribes to secure contracts in nine countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. A former senior Petrofac official has already pleaded guilty to working with Petrofac employees to offer or pay bribes totalling $80m (£57m) to win contracts worth a total of $7.5bn in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates. These are extremely serious allegations against a company with close links to your Party. The former Conservative Prime Ministers David Cameron and Theresa May both lobbied on behalf of Petrofac before the SFO investigation became public knowledge. In 2014, Mr Cameron also appointed Ayman Asfari, chief executive of Petrofac from 1991 until the end of 2020, to be one of his business ambassadors. The former international trade secretary Liam Fox also lobbied on behalf of Petrofac after the investigation came to light. Mr Asfari and his wife Ms Sawsan Asfari have made regular donations to the Conservative Party over the last fifteen years. According to the Electoral Commission website, these donations currently amount to £899,350 between 2009 and 2017. Mr Asfari has been described by Petrofac as “the public face of the Company” and the ”personification of its achievements”. He continues to be a major shareholder and serve as a non-executive director. Considering the ongoing SFO investigation and Mr Asfari’s past and present links to Petrofac, as Chair of the Conservative Party can you clarify the following points:
I am sure you will appreciate the need to respond urgently to these important questions as part of the vital work to uphold public trust and confidence in your Party’s approach to electoral finance. I would like to remind you that I am still awaiting a response to my letters of 1 and 11 June 2021 concerning the Singh investigation and comments by Lee Anderson MP on Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. I will be sharing a copy of this letter in the public interest. Yours sincerely, Anneliese Dodds Chair of the Labour Party
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