Federal Circuit Court on Thursday sentenced Trek North Tours owner operator to 12 months' prison and fined him $67,000

Leigh Alan Jorgensen, Financial Review, 13 May 2018

In the continuing matter of A.C.N. 156 455 828 Pty Ltd & Anor.

Fair Work Ombudsman, media release, 14 May 2018:

Jail term imposed in Fair Work Ombudsman’s first contempt of court case

A Northern Queensland business operator has been jailed – and then released pending the outcome of his appeal – as a result of the Fair Work Ombudsman’s first contempt-of-court action.

On Thursday May 10, the Federal Circuit Court sentenced Leigh Alan Jorgensen - the owner-operator of a Cairns company trading as Trek North Tours – to a 12-month jail term and fined him $84,956 for committing contempt of court by contravening a freezing order that applied to funds in his company’s accounts.

The Court ordered that Jorgensen’s jail term be suspended after he had spent 10 days in jail on the condition of payment of the fine.

Jorgensen sought an urgent stay of the orders in the Federal Court and lodged an appeal against his conviction and sentence. In accordance with her model litigant obligations, the Fair Work Ombudsman agreed to the stay on conditions. On May 11, the Federal Court ordered that his sentence be stayed and Jorgensen be released from jail on conditions, pending the outcome of his appeal.

A Court date has not yet been set for the appeal hearing but an order has been made that it be expedited.

The matter is the first time the Fair Work Ombudsman has commenced a contempt of court action and the first time a jail term has been imposed as a result of the Agency’s actions.

Judge Salvatore Vasta imposed the jail term after finding Jorgensen had committed contempt of court when he contravened a freezing order the Fair Work Ombudsman secured against his company in 2015. 

Freezing orders were imposed in the Federal Circuit Court in 2015 preventing any dispersion of Jorgensen’s and his company’s assets until such time as they complied with penalty and back-payment orders resulting from the Fair Work Ombudsman taking legal action against them for underpaying five back-packers on 417 working holiday visas in 2013 and 2014.

The relevant orders from that legal action, imposed by the Federal Circuit Court in June 2015, were for Jorgensen to pay a $12,000 penalty and his company to pay a $55,000 penalty and back-pay the backpackers in full, all by 17 July, 2015.

The Fair Work Ombudsman took the step of securing freezing orders against both Jorgensen and his company after both failed to pay the amounts owed by the due date and receiving information that gave rise to concerns that Jorgensen would divert company assets to avoid payment of the penalties and back-pay.

At the time, Jorgensen’s communications with the Fair Work Ombudsman suggested he was prepared to ‘bankrupt’ his company to avoid paying the penalties and back-pay order.

Jorgensen had also previously told Fair Work inspectors investigating the underpayments that the backpackers ‘would not get a cent’ in back-pay.

After the freezing orders were imposed, Jorgensen paid the penalty imposed on him personally into Court, resulting in the freezing order against him being lifted.

However, Jorgensen’s company failed to pay its penalty and failed to back-pay the workers, resulting in the freezing order against his company remaining in place.

The Fair Work Ombudsman commenced legal action against Jorgensen for contempt of Court last year, alleging that Jorgensen committed the offence of contempt of court in August 2015 when he contravened the freezing order against his company by transferring a total of $41,035 from two frozen accounts into his family trust account.

Judge Vasta found that the Fair Work Ombudsman had presented evidence to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Jorgensen committed the offence.

Pending the outcome of his appeal, the Federal Court has released Jorgensen on conditions including that he surrender his passport, remain in Queensland and report to Police twice a week.

Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James says that the commencement of these proceedings demonstrates that her Agency is prepared to use every tool at its disposal to ensure justice is served.

“We will use every lever open to us to ensure the integrity of the administration of justice and compliance with court orders imposed under the Fair Work Act 2009.

“This includes taking unprecedented new actions available to us across the legal framework such as this one.”

BACKGROUND

Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), media release, 6 February 2017:

17-023MR Former company director charged with making false or misleading statements

Former company director Leigh Alan Jorgensen, of Cairns, Queensland, has been charged with making a false or misleading statement to ASIC.

In February 2016, Mr Jorgensen lodged with ASIC a Form 6010 to voluntarily deregister A.C.N 156 455 828 Pty Ltd (ACN 156 455 828), in which ASIC alleges that Mr Jorgensen falsely and misleadingly claimed the company had no outstanding liabilities. At the time, ACN 156 455 828 had an outstanding liability owing to the Commonwealth and Mr Jorgensen was the sole director.

The charge was brought against Mr Jorgensen following an ASIC investigation into his conduct as a director of the company.

Mr Jorgensen is due to appear at the Cairns Magistrates Court on 21 March 2017.

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions is prosecuting the matter.

Background

The matter was brought to ASIC's attention by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO), who initiated legal proceedings against Mr Jorgensen and ACN 156 455 828 for unpaid employee entitlements. The FWO obtained judgement against ACN 156 455 828 which, in part, required the company to pay the Commonwealth a pecuniary penalty of $55,000. The order was obtained by the FWO before Mr Jorgensen lodged the Form 6010 to deregister ACN 156 455 828.

As a result of ASIC's investigation, Mr Jorgensen has been charged with contravening section 1308(2) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).

Mr Jorgensen ceased as a director of ACN 156 455 828 on 1 March 2016. A Liquidator was appointed to ACN 156 455 828 on 29 July 2016.

Editor's note 1:

Following a hearing at the Cairns Magistrates' Court on 21 March 2017, the matter was adjourned for further mention until 16 May 2017.

Editor's note 2:

Following a hearing at the Cairns Magistrates Court on 16 May 2017, the matter was adjourned for further mention on 27 June 2017.

Editor's note 3:

Following a hearing at the Cairns Magistrates Court on  27 June 2017, the matter was adjourned for further mention on 25 July 2017.

Editor's note 4:

Following a hearing at the Cairns Magistrates Court on  25 July 2017, the matter was adjourned for further mention on 22 August 2017.

Editor's note 5:

Following a hearing at the Cairns Magistrates Court on  22 August 2017, the matter was adjourned to 5 September 2017.

Editor's note 6:

Following a hearing at the Cairns Magistrates Court on  7 September 2017, the matter was adjourned for further mention on 19 September 2017. 

Editor's note 7:  

A warrant was issued for Mr Jorgensen following his failure to attend the Cairns Magistrates Court on 19 September 2017.

Editor's note 8:

Following a hearing at the Cairns Magistrates Court on  27 September 2017, the matter was adjourned to 3 October 2017.

Editor's note 9:

Following a hearing at the Cairns Magistrates Court on 3 October 2017, the matter was set down for a committal hearing on 24 November 2017.

Editor's note 10:

Following a hearing at the Cairns Magistrates Court on 24 November 2017, the matter was adjourned to 13 February 2018.

There would be a particularly nervous class of Australian investors right now - perhaps even Mr. Harbourside Mansion himself

The Guardian, 11 February 2017:

The founders of Mossack Fonseca, the law firm at the centre of the Panama Papers scandal, were arrested in Panama City on Thursday as the country’s attorney general launched a probe into their alleged connections with Brazil’s sprawling Lava Jato corruption scandal.

Juergen Mossack and his colleague Ramon Fonseca, a former adviser to Panama’s president Juan Carlos Varela, were taken into custody and transferred to police cells in the capital overnight for further questioning on Friday, their defence attorney Elías Solano was quoted telling reporters.

Panamanian prosecutors raided the offices of Mossack Fonseca on Thursday. In a press conference on Kenia Porcell, Panama’s attorney general, said she had information that identified Mossack Fonseca “allegedly as a criminal organisation that is dedicated to hiding money assets from suspicious origins”. 

She said the firm’s Brazilian representative had allegedly been instructed to conceal documents and to remove evidence of illegal activities related to the Lava Jato case.

“Put simply, the money comes from bribes, circulated via certain corporate entities to return bleached or washed to Panama,” said Porcell. She explained charges had been formulated against four individuals, including the Mossack Fonseca partners. 

Porcell thanked the authorities in Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Switzerland and the United States for their part in a collaboration which she said began over a year ago.

The Panama Papers, which consist of millions of documents belonging to Mossack Fonseca and leaked in April 2016, provoked a global scandal after showing how the rich and powerful used offshore corporations to avoid paying taxes.

Australian Financial Review, 14 June 2016:

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's merchant bank Turnbull & Partners received an estimated $3 million in 1995 and 1996 from the sales of shares held through offshore companies administered by notorious Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca.

Turnbull & Partners received up to $7 million from share sales and advisory fees from Mr Turnbull's time as a director of a listed mining company, Star Mining, which had an interest in a Siberian gold deposit.

Documents obtained by The Australian Financial Review, which first revealed Mr Turnbull's link to a Mossack Fonseca company last month, show heavy selling of Star Mining shares by offshore companies in 1995 after a series of favourable decisions by Russian politicians and bureaucrats boosted the Star Mining share price.

One of the key figures who helped obtain Star's Siberian  mining leases, Ludmila Melnikoff, accuses Star director Ian MacNee, who died in 2008, of paying bribes of more than $US2 million to secure these decisions.

Australian Federal Election 2016: nowhere to run to, nowhere to hide

It is not just individual taxpayers who should be worried about being caught out using Panama-based firm Mossack Fonseca & Co to allegedly hide unexplained wealth or avoid/evade tax on income earned in this country.

The Turnbull Government should also be worried because this story is likely to run right through the federal election campaign this year and, it is not outside the realms of possibility that names will surface which include known Liberal Party political donors.

It is already a problem for the Prime Minister and Cabinet because along with many other federal government departments/agencies, the Australian Dept. of Defence and Department of Immigration and Border Protection have previous and current contracts with Wilson Security Pty Ltd, a client of Mossack Fonseca.

Neither Defence nor Immigration appear to have conducted genuine due diligence on this company during tender processes, as evidence by their response here and here.

On 4 April 2016 ABC News reported:

Leaked documents have revealed that two brothers embroiled in a massive Hong Kong corruption scandal were ultimately in control of an Australian security company that earned roughly half a billion dollars in lucrative government contracts.

The two billionaire brothers, Thomas and Raymond Kwok, were charged with bribing a Hong Kong government official in July 2012 in a case that shook the Hong Kong establishment.

Soon after their arrest, the leaked documents, obtained by the ABC's Four Corners, show the brothers covertly remained directors of the offshore company that ultimately controls Wilson's operations in Australia — Wilson Offshore Group Holdings (BVI) Limited…..

In December 2014, Thomas Kwok was convicted of the bribery offences and sentenced to five years in prison.

His brother Raymond Kwok was acquitted of all charges.

According to Jason Sharman, professor at the Centre of Governance and Public Policy at Griffith University, the "common sense" definition is that the company listed as the ultimate holding company is "not only the legal owner but the entity in control," he said.

"You would expect that if you've got a company at the top of the chain that is in control of a lot of assets, people would really want to know who they are working for, who they are owned by and who they are being directed by," said Professor Sharman…..

Since the arrest of the Kwok brothers in July 2012, Wilson Security secured a sub-contract to provide garrison services for Australia's offshore detention centres on Nauru and Manus Island as well as various other contracts with Defence, The Australian Tax Office and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

The Kwok brothers maintained effective control as directors via a covert manoeuvre facilitated by Mossack Fonseca.

Two weeks after the brothers were charged, both Thomas and Raymond Kwok removed themselves as directors from Wilson Offshore Group Holdings (BVI) Limited but replaced themselves with two mysterious new directors that were companies, Winsome Sky and Harmony Core.

The leaked files show the directors of those mystery companies were in fact the Kwok brothers themselves.

Thomas Kwok signed on as the director of Winsome Sky on July 30, 2012, and on the same day Raymond signed on as the director of Harmony Core……

Wilson Offshore Group Holdings (BVI) Limited was originally registered in 1991 under a different name, Covert Investments.

Thomas and Raymond Kwok, as well as their older brother Walter, were early directors of Covert Investments before it changed its name to Wilson Offshore Group Holdings (BVI) Limited in 2004.

BACKGROUND

The company founded by Jürgen Mossack and Ramón Fonseca says of itself:

Established in 1977, the Mossack Fonseca Group is a leading global company which provides comprehensive legal and trust services.

With over 500 staff members across every continent, the Mossack Fonseca Group provides excellent services based on more than 35 years of experience. As part of its added value, the Group offers personal advice and a world-class online experience through a virtual Client Portal which is available 24 hours a day. Our web-based Client Information Portal application allows clients to reserve companies online, verify the status of companies, and pay invoices, in addition to other transactions.

Our service and research-oriented professionals specialize in trust services, wealth management, international business structures, and commercial law, among other areas.

Our product and service portfolio is constantly updated and renewed, enabling the Group to find the appropriate solution for your business. We offer research, advice and services for the following jurisdictions: Belize, The Netherlands, Costa Rica, United Kingdom, Malta, Hong Kong, Cyprus, British Virgin Islands, Bahamas, Panama, British Anguilla, Seychelles, Samoa, Nevada, and Wyoming (USA).

Our law firm has specialized attorneys experienced in all areas of law such as shipping, immigration, contracts and intellectual property, as well as commercial law in general. We also assist clients in physically relocating to Panama and supporting them with regard to all of the steps required, from handling immigration matters and buying or renting property to establishing their business in Panama.

Australian Taxation Office media release 4 April 2016:

ATO statement regarding release of taxpayer data

Recently, the ATO received data in relation to a Panamanian law firm containing names of a significant number of Australian residents. Currently we have identified over 800 individual taxpayers and we have now linked over 120 of them to an associate offshore service provider located in Hong Kong.

These cases relate to the release of data by transparency or media organisations in Australia and overseas. ATO intelligence on tax evasion comes from a variety of sources, including from concerned citizens, advisers, partner agencies and international bodies. For example the ATO has raised tax liabilities of around $400 million from data supplied by confidential informants.

Deputy Commissioner Michael Cranston said that since the completion of the offshore disclosure initiative 'Project DO IT', the ATO has ramped up its compliance work to deal with those taxpayers who have failed to disclose offshore income and assets. Sharing information and coordinating action closely with other tax administrations is a large part of this work.

"We promised the community that following Project DO IT we would continue to build our intelligence base, undertake audits, apply significant penalties and refer the worst cases for criminal investigation" Mr Cranston said.

"We have been analysing the latest data against information these taxpayers had reported to the ATO and against the information we already have. We are also working closely with the AFP, Australian Crime Commission and AUSTRAC to further cross-check the data and strengthen our intelligence. Some cases may be referred to the Serious Financial Crime Taskforce.

This Taskforce builds on the success of Project Wickenby where we raised $2.29billion in tax liabilities and there were 46 criminal convictions.

"The information we have includes some taxpayers who we have previously investigated, as well as a small number who disclosed their arrangements with us under the Project DO IT initiative. It also includes a large number of taxpayers who haven't previously come forward, including high wealth individuals, and we are already taking action on those cases" Mr Cranston said.

"Through data analysis we have been able to identify patterns such as clusters of individual taxpayer and advisers for further investigation."

"The message is clear - taxpayers can't rely on these secret arrangements being kept secret and we will act on any information that is provided to us" Mr Cranston said.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 April 2016:

More than 11.5 million documents have been leaked from Mossack Fonseca's files, revealing the secrets of hundreds of thousands of clients – including several thousand Australians – covering a period over almost 40 years, from 1977 until as recently as last December.

The release of the documents on Monday follows a 12-month investigation by media groups including The Australian Financial Review, led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in Washington…..

The files show how Mossack Fonseca thwarted Australian regulators and police inquiries, continued to act for individuals accused of fraud and embezzlement, and lobbied actively to prevent Australia from signing agreements that would allow the exchange of tax information with Samoa, a key tax avoidance jurisdiction.

While most investors and corporations who use tax havens have legitimate reasons to use these structures, the leaked records also show some companies domiciled in tax havens were being used for suspected money laundering, arms and drug deals, and tax avoidance.

"Some cases may be referred to the Serious Financial Crime Taskforce," ATO deputy commissioner Michael Cranston told the Financial Review, confirming the Australian link with Mossack Fonseca.

The data includes high wealth individuals "and we are already taking action on those cases", Mr Cranston said.

"ATO intelligence on tax evasion comes from a variety of sources, including from concerned citizens, advisers, partner agencies and international bodies…..

Mr Cranston said some of the Australians under scrutiny had previously been investigated by the Tax Office but the probe included a "large number of taxpayers who haven't previously come forward".

The ATO investigation is based on a smaller set of files detailing Mossack Fonseca's Luxembourg operations, which were sold to the German government by a former employee, triggering scores of raids by tax investigators who targeted Commerzbank​ clients in Germany in February last year.

German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung​, working with the ICIJ, subsequently obtained much more extensive files, with a total 2.6 terabytes of data for Mossack Fonseca's entire global operations, from an anonymous informant. No payment was made……

The Panamanian firm is one of the top five global groups providing corporate registry services in 21 low-tax jurisdictions around the world for more than 214,000 companies, trusts and foundations, providing an essential services for legitimate companies and investors, including BHP Billiton.

But the files show that the firm also protects its less reputable clients, keeping Swiss advisory firm Strachans on its books despite a decade of Project Wickenby investigations initially focused on Strachans that led to 46 criminal convictions, including a jail term for a Strachans partner, Philip de Figueiredo.

Another Wickenby target, Rockhampton-born lawyer Peter Borgas, based in Switzerland, remained a valued Mossack client even after he was arrested in Sydney in 2013 (the charge was dropped five months later).

Last December, Mossack decided it would not act on its probity concerns for a firm controlled by Tan Yixin, a Chinese executive jailed for 3½ years for bribes and leaking secrets to Australia's Rio Tinto, because "the client will destroy us with their comments" in the high-growth Chinese market.

When the Australian Federal Police wrote to Mossack Fonseca's British Virgin Islands office in July 2012 to enforce an Australian court order to sell a Perth apartment on which a BVI company, Anchorville Holdings Ltd, allegedly held a mortgage, Mossack replied that Anchorville had been struck off in 2007 and asked the AFP to stop sending letters.

Perth entrepreneur Roger Bryer had lived for a decade in the spectacular Perth penthouse, which was tied up in lengthy criminal trials over a $US15 million ($19.5 million) embezzlement case involving Commerzbank. Most of the proceeds had been transferred to Australian accounts controlled by Mr Bryer, to invest. Mr Bryer told police he had no knowledge the money was stolen. It was not suggested that he had acted improperly.

In 2012, the DPP applied to sell the penthouse as part of the proceeds of crime, but Anchorville had been set up as mortgagee on it.

Rebuffed by Mossack Fonseca, the AFP obtained a BVI search warrant in November 2012. A Mossack executive produced old documentation showing Anchorville was owned by yet another nominee company.

Meanwhile, Mossack had contacted the original registered owner of Anchorville and offered to reinstate the company, for $5487. As part of that reinstatement, new documents were registered in 2013 that showed that Bryer had owned Anchorville since 2001.

Mr Bryer told the Financial Review on Sunday that he had made it clear to the AFP that he controlled Anchorville and the matter had been completely resolved in a confidential settlement with the AFP and DPP on February 6, 2013.

While Anchorville was set up as a mortgagee company, its mortgage on the penthouse was not valid.

"I have very grave doubts as to whether they were acting legitimately," Mr Bryer said of Mossack Fonseca. "None of it was credible for that company."…..

In 2008, Sydney developer George Ghossayn​, who at the time was a regular in the appointment diary of Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid​ before later switching his support to the Liberal Party, was setting up an offshore partnership with fellow developer Fouad Deiri​, in a BVI company, Fitall Development Limited.

In September 2013, convicted cocaine dealer-turned-Queensland property developer Joseph Frangieh​ took control of a Seychelles company, Silver Tiger Enterprises Limited.

In late 2011, sports promoter Dominic Galati​ was publicly challenging to replace Frank Lowy as chairman of Football Federation Australia, "because I believe that someone has to be a voice out there for the people that are passionate about this game".

Behind the scenes, Galati was involved in setting up half a dozen companies in Samoa, which were transferred to a new Hong Kong company, Global Wealth Group, controlled by Galati, William Aloisi, John McGeary and Roy Bijkerk.

William Aloisi's website describes him as an investment banker. Mr McGeary is a greyhound trainer, while Bijkerk is a convicted cocaine importer who has built a property empire through Guardian Care Properties.

A remarkable 269 shareholdings of companies in the British Virgin Islands, Samoa, the Seychelles and Panama, almost all of them holding bearer shares, are linked to just four addresses on the Gold Coast associated with family members of Ian Taylor, a New Zealand businessman who, with his father Geoffrey Taylor, has set up shell companies that have since been linked to arms deals, Mexican drug lords and Russia's largest tax fraud.

There has been no suggestion of illegality by the Taylors.

Ian Taylor has previously told Fairfax that "only a small handful" of their companies were misused.

"Clients of certain nationalities are discriminated against only due to their citizenship.

Read the full article here.

The Australian, 4 April 2016:

More than 1000 Australian links to companies have been found in a data leak of millions of documents from a Panama law firm…..

The passports of hundreds of Australian citizens connected to companies as directors, shareholders and beneficial owners, are included according to the ABC.

Australian-based companies investigated in international bribery scandal

The story so far......

In 2010 Leighton Holdings Limited thought it was a good idea to employ a 'door opener' to assist in gaining big ticket international contacts through one of its entities Leighton Offshore.

Four years later both the 'door opener' and Leighton were under investigation across multiple jurisdictions for allegedly corrupt conduct, as contractor and sub-contractor the pair had fallen out and a British court ordered the company to pay an additional est. US$18.37 million to its 'door opener' and, the company's credit rating had slumped. 

The then sixty-five year old company was taken over by Spanish multinational 
Actividades de Construcción y Servicios (ACS) and, in 2015 its name changed to CIMIC Group Limited. 

A rough timeline of corruption allegations reported in the mainstream media.......

The Huffington Post, 31 March 2016:

The letter arrived via snail mail, and read like a page from a Le Carré spy thriller. If my newspaper and I wanted to expose a corporate bribery scandal involving the biggest names in the oil business, the anonymous sender wrote, I should place an advertisement in the real estate section of French newspaper Le Figaro in July 2015.

The advertisement must include the code word "Monte Christo".

The sender wanted to protect his identity, and perhaps ensure I was a journalist committed to following a lead around the world. Whatever the intention, his proposition was too intriguing to ignore.

Also piquing my interest was the mention of a mysterious company called Unaoil, run by the wealthy Ahsani family of Monaco……

Unaoil Group legal letter of 29 March 2016 to Fairfax Media Publications:

The Age, 31 March 2016:

A massive leak of confidential documents has for the first time exposed the true extent of corruption within the oil industry, implicating dozens of leading companies, bureaucrats and politicians in a sophisticated global web of bribery and graft.

After a six-month investigation across two continents, Fairfax Media and The Huffington Post can reveal that billions of dollars of government contracts were awarded as the direct result of bribes paid on behalf of firms including British icon Rolls-Royce, US giant Halliburton, Australia’s Leighton Holdings and Korean heavyweights Samsung and Hyundai.

The investigation centres on a Monaco company called Unaoil, run by the jet-setting Ahsani clan. Following a coded ad in a French newspaper, a series of clandestine meetings and midnight phone calls led to our reporters obtaining hundreds of thousands of the Ahsanis’ leaked emails and documents.

The trove reveals how they rub shoulders with royalty, party in style, mock anti-corruption agencies and operate a secret network of fixers and middlemen throughout the world’s oil producing nations…..

Fairfax Media and The Huffington Post today reveal how Unaoil carved up portions of the Middle East oil industry for the benefit of Western companies between 2002 and 2012.

In part two we will turn to the impoverished former Russian states to reveal the extent of misbehaviour by multinational companies including Halliburton. We will conclude the three-part investigation by showing how corrupt practices have extended deep into Asia and Africa….

Western firms involved in Unaoil’s Middle East operation include some of the world’s wealthiest and most respected companies: Rolls-Royce and Petrofac from Britain; US companies FMC Technologies, Cameron and Weatherford; Italian giants Eni and Saipem; German companies MAN Turbo (now know as MAN Diesal & Turbo) and Siemens; Dutch firm SBM Offshore; and Indian giant Larsen & Toubro. They also show the offshore arm of Australian company Leighton Holdings was involved in serious, calculated corruption.

The leaked files reveal that some people in these firms believed they were hiring a genuine lobbyist, and others who knew or suspected they were funding bribery simply turned a blind eye.

But some knew much more. A handful of senior insiders at firms such as Spanish company Tecnicas Reunidas, French firm Technip and drilling giant MI-SWACO, not only actively supported bribery but pocketed their own kickbacks; US defence giant Honeywell and Australia’s Leighton Offshore agreed to hide bribes inside fraudulent contracts in Iraq; a Rolls-Royce manager negotiated a monthly kickback for leaking information from inside the British firm. [my red bolding]

Rest of the article here.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 31 March 2016:

The latest revelations show Unaoil's campaign of corruption spread across the former Soviet states. Leaked Unaoil files reveal that one of the crooked middlemen, Stefano Borghi, who worked with Unaoil in Kazakhstan, was also working with Australian firm WorleyParsons around 2008.

In conjunction with Unaoil, Borghi paid kickbacks to the senior managers who oversaw oilfield contracts. The oilfields were jointly managed by the Kazakhstan government and Italian international oil company Eni.

In return for bribes, Eni managers leaked inside information and rigged tender committees to assist Borghi and Unaoil's multinational clients.

The leaked files revealed that in 2008, Borghi and Unaoil stood to make hundreds of thousands of dollars if they helped a consortium led by WorleyParsons to win a multimillion-dollar contract.

"In case of award to PARSONS or any third party represented by PARSONS, ECO [Unaoil's British Virgin Islands company] shall be entitled to receive a fee equal to 1% (one percent) of the total price of the portion of the contract awarded to PARSONS," a leaked Unaoil memo states.

Another email shows that, in 2007, a senior WorleyParsons manager used Borghi to find out confidential information in Kazakhstan through "the back door".

At the time, Borghi was bribing a corrupt Eni manager whose job was to oversee several large contracts in Kazakhstan. The manager, Diego Braghi, was leaking sensitive information from a tender committee that was considering whether to award the WorleyParsons' consortium a contract on the Kashagan oilfield.

Managers from the consortium asked Borghi to leak information about their competitors, and to get other forms of assistance from tender committee insiders.

Unaoil regarded WorleyParsons as a company able to pay middlemen huge sums to win contracts. Other firms, including US giant KBR, had scaled back these practices due to concerns over corruption.

"WP [WorleyParsons] do not have any of the constraints that kbr … do now and can pay serious fees," Unaoil's memo says.

In the end, for the WorleyParsons manager handling the transaction, this preparedness to do the wrong thing paid off. Worley beat their competitors and won the contract.

In a statement, WorleyParsons confirmed that "Stefano Borghi was an employee of an agent of WorleyParsons."

"At the time the agency agreement was put in place, WorleyParsons had in place rigorous processes to select and appoint agents who provide services to the company," the company said. [my red bolding]

The Sydney Morning Herald, 31 March 2016:

The revelations place intense pressure on the Turnbull government to respond to corporate corruption scandals with the same ferocity they have attacked corrupt unionists. Labor senator Sam Dastyari and independent Nick Xenophon have revealed they will bring forward to April a Senate inquiry into corporate bribery and seek to force allegedly corrupt executives to testify. 

The inquiry will intersect with the Turnbull government's push to pressure the Senate into reviving the Australian Building and Construction Commission. [my red bolding]

Excerpt  from Google Translate’s version of 31 March 2016 Monaco Government press release:

Communiqué of the Department of Legal Services of the Principality of Monaco

Following an urgent request for international judicial assistance in criminal matters from the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in the UK, and in accordance with international agreements signed by the Principality of Monaco, it was conducted searches at the homes of officers of the Monegasque company UNAOIL and headquartered in the Principality. The leaders of this company were also heard on 29 and 30 March 2016. 

These investigations and hearings were conducted in the presence of British officials, as part of a vast corruption scandal with international ramifications involving many foreign companies operating in the oil sector.....

The Sydney Morning Herald, 1 April 2016:

In continuing fallout from the joint Fairfax Media-Huffington Post investigation into corruption in the oil industry, the Monaco government revealed that it had raided the homes and offices of Unaoil's principals, who ran the company exposed as the global bagman for the oil industry.

Unaoil executives "were also interviewed… in the presence of British officers in connection with a case of vast corruption with international ramifications that involves many foreign companies active in the petroleum sector," the Monaco government's statement said.

Fairfax Media revealed on Thursday that the British police had teamed up with the Australian Federal Police, the US Department of Justice and the FBI to investigate the vast cache of leaked Unaoil emails on which our stories have been based.

Unaoil was hired over almost two decades by large multinational firms, including the offshore arm of Australia's Leighton Holdings, to pay bribes to top overseas officials in return for winning government funded contracts in oil-rich nations.

Fairfax also revealed that the chief executive of Primary Health Care, Peter Gregg, was under criminal investigation over a $15 million payment he allegedly made in a former job as chief financial officer of Leighton Holdings.

He appears to have signed documents making the payment to a United Arab Emirates firm, Asian Global Projects and Trading, to guarantee the supply of steel to the Australian construction giant at "preferred and commercially beneficial" prices. No steel was ever supplied and Fairfax Media has obtained documents revealing the Dubai company that received the money has engaged in bribery and money laundering……

Read the rest of this article here.

The Age, 1 April 2016:

Questions are emerging about how Unaoil operated for so many years with impunity, using bank accounts in New York and London to launder funds and pay bribes between 2000 and 2012, possibly more recently…..

Many of Unaoil’s crooked deals were organised in London, or used UK and US linked middlemen, bank accounts and shelf companies. British authorities appear to have been in the dark about Unaoil and the Ahsanis, who also operate a London property investment company. The British foreign office has even assisted Unaoil overseas, giving Unaoil and its executives briefings and support.

Boing Boing, 2 April 2016:

By week's end, police in the UK, US and Australia announced criminal investigations against top executives, and the Monaco police raided Unaoil's HQ.

But the BBC -- a national broadcaster charged with impartially reporting on the news -- has literally never mentioned Unaoil in any of its online news coverage. Many of the companies involved in the scandal are headquartered in the UK, and some, like Rolls-Royce, are practically synonymous with British industry. Meanwhile, the news coverage has described how Unaoil used the City of London as its go-to money laundry.

The Huffington Post, 4 April 2016:

Halliburton, KBR and other corporate conglomerates relied on Unaoil to deliver them lucrative contracts with corrupt regimes in oil-rich nations. But without the help of banks like HSBC and Citibank, none of Unaoil’s operations would have been possible.

Both Citibank and HSBC declined to comment on whether Unaoil or the Ahsani family, who own and operate the firm, remain their clients.

HSBC and Citibank have histories of corruption. In 2012, HSBC was fined $1.9 billion for laundering drug money and violating U.S. sanctions against Iran. In 2015, it paid Swiss authorities $43 million to settle allegations that it helped the global elite illegally dodge taxes. Citibank was fined $140 million last year for violations of money laundering laws related to its work with an energy company involved in a bribery scandal with the Mexican government. The bank is currently being investigated for its role in the bribery scandal at FIFA, the international soccer organization.

BACKGROUND

The Sydney Morning Herald, 18 November 2013:

Damning evidence has emerged in a court case linking construction firm Leighton Holdings to allegedly corrupt payments of "not less than $25 million in marketing fees" to a Monaco firm to help win Iraq government projects, even though the projects required no marketing.

Leighton's own lawyers recently labelled these payment agreements as "vague and uncertain", while corporate corruption expert Dr Kath Hall, Associate Professor at the ANU College of Law, said they were risky and compared them to the dealings of AWB Limited in Iraq over a decade ago.

Files from the British High Court of Justice case reveal that the fees were contained in deals, known as Memorandum of Agreements (MOAs), struck between Leighton's offshore business and another company, Unaoil, in the last half of 2010 and in early 2011 and aimed at securing oil pipeline contracts in the south of Iraq.

Unaoil operates out of Monaco but is incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, a tax haven with an opaque banking system.

The Unaoil deal is one of two deals linked to the Iraq projects in 2010 - the second involving UAE company Oceanking - that Leighton insiders now concede should have never been struck because they involved payments for services that were undefined and vague.

Leighton only referred the deals to police in November 2011, after external lawyers discovered company files outlining allegations of bribery in Iraq.

The two deals were overseen by former Leighton International director David Savage and former top executive Russell Waugh.

Unaoil has alleged in its court case that the MOAs required the Australian firm to pay pay Unaoil "a minimum price for construction and marketing of $US55 million" in the event that the Iraqi government awarded Leighton the second pipeline contract.

"Furthermore, the parties agreed that Unaoil shall be paid an additional marketing fee of 5 per cent of any amount that Leighton receive on the [Iraq] Project above $US500 million."

"For the avoidance of doubt, the marketing fee paid to Unaoil shall not be less than $US25million."

In documents lodged in court in April this year, Leighton's barrister Sean Brannigan, QC, rejected Unaoil's demands, stating that the MOA between Leighton and Unaoil was "so vague and uncertain that it cannot be given contractual force"

.As federal police bribery investigators continue to investigate Leighton's Iraq dealings, several figures closely associated with Leighton said the MOAs should never have been drawn up. Most corporate anti-corruption programs warn that ''marketing fees'' may be used as a vehicle to pay bribes in overseas business deals.

Former Leighton chief executive Walk King, who departed Leighton at the start of 2011, was also on the board that oversaw Leighton Offshore's initial Iraq contract and initial MOAs with subcontractors.

Mr King said that he had no knowledge of or involvement in the ''so-called second contract'' in Iraq, which is the subject of the British legal dispute between Leighton and Unaoil. [my red bolding]

AFR Weekend, 10 October 2013:

WorleyParsons chief executive Andrew Wood has seized on Leighton Holdings’ bribery allegations to stress his global engineering group will not tolerate any form of corrupt practices.

Amid concerns the scandal could damage WorleyParsons’ reputation, Mr Wood told investors that ethical behaviour was “paramount" to the company’s success.

“Recent revelations of alleged corrupt practices by Australian companies operating overseas we know is a concern to shareholders of a global companies such as ours," he said at WorleyParsons’ shareholder meeting in Sydney.

“I can assure you that at WorleyParsons we have zero tolerance of corrupt practices." Like Leighton, WorleyParsons only banned facilitation payments last year after the Australian Federal Police began an investigation in late 2011 into suspect payments made by Leighton to secure oil contracts in Iraq.

Excerpts from Memorandum of Agreement as set out in the Unaoil Ltd v Leighton Offshore Pte Ltd [2014] EWHC 2965 (Comm) judgment of 12 September 2014 which found in favour of Unaoil:

"MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT

…

WHEREAS

LEIGHTON OFFSHORE and UNAOIL respectively wish to record their irrevocable and binding agreement relating to their collaboration and co-operation in connection with the "IRAQ CRUDE OIL EXPORT FACILITY RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT reference EFP 0910100 (hereinafter referred to as the "PROJECT" and or "JICA") for SOUTH OIL COMPANY (hereinafter referred to as the "CLIENT") in Iraq.

NOW THEREFORE, it is on the basis of the foregoing premise being an integral part this MOA that the Parties hereto agree as follows:

ARTICLE 1 – PURPOSE OF THE MOA

In consideration of the mutual undertakings each Party gives to the other under this MOA, the Parties agree as follows:

1.1 To freely enter into this MOA, in collaboration and co-operation, whereby the Parties agree that such collaboration and cooperation is by way of a sole and exclusive contractor and sub-contractor relationship in respect of the above PROJECT for the UNAOIL Scope of Work (later herein defined).

1.2 That UNAOIL shall immediately following signature irrevocably commit to the further engagement of subcontract resources and the continued incurrence of costs in respect of the above PROJECT for the UNAOIL Scope of Work (later herein defined).

…

1.5 Save in so far as the Party's respective subcontract arrangements that may be necessary in order to support the purpose and intent of this MOA, or as otherwise expressly provided in this MOA, neither Party shall individually enter into any relationship which is substantially equivalent to that defined by this MOA, in connection with the PROJECT and the UNAOIL Scope of Work with any person or firm other than the other Party to this MOA. For the avoidance of doubt, neither Party shall, whether directly or indirectly, make any other tender to or agreement with the CLIENT or any other party with respect to a work scope that is substantially equivalent to the UNAOIL Scope of Work (later herein defined) on this PROJECT which would thus attempt to circumvent the purpose and intent of this MOA.

…

1.7 Nothing in this MOA shall create any entitlement whatsoever between the Parties, including any right to damages, costs or expenses in the event LEIGHTON OFFSHORE (or any one of it's [sic] existing or future group companies) is not awarded the contract for the PROJECT by the CLIENT.

…

ARTICLE 2 – IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MOA

The Parties agree to proceed as follows:

2.1 UNAOIL confirms that it together with any partners with which it works in connection with the PROJECT shall have, the requisite skill, experience, ability and available resources and that it meets, and all such partners shall meet, all requirements at law including holding of all relevant licences to execute the UNAOIL Scope of Work as is hereby subcontracted by LEIGHTON OFFSHORE to UNAOIL in accordance with this MOA.

2.2 Without further payment obligation unless and until LEIGHTON OFFSHORE (or any one of its existing or future group companies) is successful in securing the PROJECT from the CLIENT, LEIGHTON OFFSHORE hereby appoints UNAOIL (or by way of later assignment one of its existing or future group companies, subject to LEIGHTON OFFSHORE approval, which will not be unreasonably withheld or delayed) to be its sub-contractor for the execution of the onshore construction activities (as further defined in Exhibit 1 and 2) in connection with the PROJECT ("UNAOIL Scope of Work").

2.3 Other than those agreements set forth in this MOA, UNAOIL and LEIGHTON OFFSHORE will negotiate in good faith to agree the further terms and conditions of the subcontract for the UNAOIL Scope of Work with such terms and conditions to be on a back to back basis with the terms and conditions contained in the contract between LEIGHTON OFFSHORE and the CLIENT, to the fullest extent such terms and conditions may reasonably and proportionately be deemed applicable in the context of the subcontract and the UNAOIL Scope of Works…

2.5 LEIGHTON OFFSHORE and UNAOIL agree that UNAOIL Scope of Work shall be as set out in Exhibit 1 …

2.6 LEIGHTON OFFSHORE and UNAOIL agree to the commercial points of principle as set forth in Exhibit 3 hereto and, in so far as is necessary and without prejudice to the same, further agree that they will negotiate together in good faith to incorporate the said agreed principles into any further detailed terms and conditions of the subcontract.

2.7 LEIGHTON OFFSHORE and UNAOIL agree an all inclusive price of USD 75,000,000 (seventy five million dollars).

…

ARTICLE 5 – EFFECTIVE DATE

This MOA is effective and binding between the Parties as of the date of its execution under hand.

ARTICLE 6 – LAW AND DISPUTES

This MOA and any non-contractual obligations arising in connection with it shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.

…

ARTICLE 7 – TERMINATION

Other than as set out hereunder in this Article 7, neither party shall have any further obligation to the other under this MOA after its termination. Article 3 CONFIDENTIALITY, Article 6 LAW AND DISPUTES and Article 7 TERMINATION shall accordingly remain in full force and effect after its termination. This MOU [sic] will terminate on the earliest of any of the following events occurring:

…

4. The award of the PROJECT to LEIGHTON OFFSHORE and entry by the Parties into (by mutual consent and formal execution thereof) of a subcontract agreement for the UNAOIL Scope of Work that includes a condition that expressly supersedes this MOA.

…

ARTICLE 8 –LIQUIDATED DAMAGES

8.1 If LEIGHTON OFFSHORE is awarded the contract for the PROJECT by the Client, and LEIGHTON OFFSHORE does not subsequently adhere to the terms of this MOA and is accordingly in breach hereof, LEIGHTON OFFSHORE shall pay to UNAOIL liquidated damages in the total amount of USD 40,000,000 (Forty million US dollars). After careful consideration by the Parties, the Parties agree such amount is proportionate in all respects and is a genuine pre-estimate of the loss that UNAOIL would incur as a result of LEIGHTON OFFSHORE's failure to honour the terms of the MOA.

8.2 Any liquidated damages payable under Article 8.1 shall be paid by LEIGHTON OFFSHORE to a bank account nominated by UNAOIL in instalments, with one initial instalment of USD 10,000,000 (Ten million US dollars) being made within 30 days of a written demand by UNAOIL, and the balance sum being paid in 14 equal instalments on a monthly basis, commencing in the month following the initial payment, or as may be otherwise agreed in writing between UNAOIL and LEIGHTON OFFSHORE.

ARTICLE 9 – CONTINUED SERVICE PROVISION

9.1 If LEIGHTON OFFSHORE does not subsequently adhere to the terms of this MOA and is accordingly in breach hereof, then notwithstanding and without prejudice to LEIGHTON OFFSHORE's obligation to pay liquidated damages to UNAOIL in accordance with Article 8 but subject always to the strict conformity and adherence of the agreed payment structure set forth therein, UNAOIL will continue to assist LEIGHTON OFFSHORE with the successful execution and completion of the PROJECT for the CLIENT and shall:

•    Provide local knowledge and advice on the preferences of the CLIENT, its partners, the government and governmental agencies.

•    Assist in arranging meetings and maintaining relations with the CLIENT, its partners, the government, governmental agencies and any other business representatives that are deemed desirable for the satisfactory completion of LEIGHTON OFFSHORE's contract.

•    Ensure LEIGHTON OFFSHORE is kept appraised of all requirements the CLIENT may have in relation to the execution of the contract.

•    Provide feedback and monitoring of performance of the CLIENT, its partners and others during execution to ensure a successful contract execution.

•    Provide assistance on possible change orders and guidance relating to invoicing procedures and billing issues if needed.

AGREED COMMERCIAL POINTS OF PRINCIPLE

…

2. Payment terms

The agreed payment terms are set forth below:

a. Non-refundable Advance Payment of 15.0% of the Fixed Lump Sum Price contained in Article 2.7, which shall be set against each of the Lump Sum Prices contained in Exhibit 2 UNAOIL's Unit Rates / Price Breakdown …

b. Within 30 days of (a) a Non Refundable Pipe Laying Equipment Asset Write Down and Mobilisation Payment of 7.5% of the Fixed Lump Sum Price contained in Article 2.7, which shall be set against each of the Lump Sum Prices contained in Exhibit 2 UNAOIL's Unit Rates / Price Breakdown.

c. Thereafter, monthly progress payments against actual progress of the Work Breakdown Structure activities on the balance of 72.5% of each of the Lump Sum Prices contained in Exhibit 2 UNAOIL's Unit Rates / Price Breakdown …

d. …

e. With the exception of (a) and (b) above (which are payable on demand following the opening of the main contract LOC and the receipt of first funds by LEIGHTON OFFSHORE as set forth in (a) and (b)), the period of payment shall be no greater than 45 calendar days …

5. UNAOIL's approval as a subcontract

In the event of a written objection by the CLIENT to UNAOIL's engagement as a sub-contractor to LEIGHTON OFFSHORE, UNAOIL shall in a timely manner seek and obtain approvals for its continued engagement to perform the works as set forth in this MOA. For the avoidance of doubt, should thereafter UNAOIL's continued engagement remain unacceptable to the CLIENT, then notwithstanding the same both Parties hereby agree that UNAOIL shall always continue to be obliged to provide the services set forth in Article 9.1 and LEIGHTON OFFSHORE shall always be obliged, upon the continued provision of those services, to pay UNAOIL in strict accordance with the instalments set forth in Article 8.2. If at such time UNAOIL have already issued the Performance Bond set forth above and in Article 2.10, then LEIGHTON OFFSHORE hereby agree to return the same with a letter of unconditional release from obligation there under to UNAOIL's guarantor bank."

Up until June 2014, the Leighton Group delivered its services through a long-established structure, consisting of Leighton Holdings and five independent, overlapping Operating Companies, being: Leighton Contractors; Thiess; John Holland; Leighton Asia, India and Offshore; and Leighton Properties. In June 2014, Leighton announced a Strategic Review of its operations. This included a transformation of the business operating model. Henceforth the Group will deliver its services through four specialised businesses focused on construction, contract mining, PPPs, and engineering. Refer section titled ‘Strategic Review’ below for further details. The Group also has a 45% investment in the Habtoor Leighton Group, a Middle-East based construction company, and investments in other listed and non-listed entities. [Leighton Group, 2014 Annual Report, p.12]

On 13 February 2012, the Company announced to the Australian Securities Exchange that it had reported to the Australian Federal Police (“AFP”) a possible breach by employees within the Leighton International business of its Code of Ethics that, if substantiated, may have contravened Australian laws. The possible breach related to payments that may have been made by a subsidiary company Leighton Offshore Pte. Limited in connection with work to expand offshore loading facilities for Iraq's crude oil exports. The AFP is investigating the Iraq issue and the Leighton Group’s international business operations. In November 2013, Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) made public statements about its cooperation with the AFP in the AFP’s investigation. On 28 March 2014, ASIC informed the Senate Estimates Committee that it had commenced a formal investigation into potential breaches of the Corporations Act relating to a number of matters being investigated by the AFP. Leighton is cooperating with the AFP and the ASIC investigations. Leighton does not know when the investigations will be concluded. [ibid, p.106] [my red bolding]

The Sydney Morning Herald, 20 March 2015:

Leighton Holdings has confirmed it will change its name to CIMIC Group as the construction group's new Spanish owners try to distance themselves from corruption allegations, shedding an Australian brand that has existed for more than 60 years.

Leighton has asked shareholders to approve the name change at the company's annual general meeting in Sydney on April 21.

As exclusively reported by Fairfax on Thursday, Leighton Holdings lodged an application to trademark "CIMIC" with IP Australia, the government agency that administers intellectual property rights, on March 3.

CIMIC stands for Construction, Infrastructure, Mining and Concessions.

The name change follows the acquisition of Leighton by Spanish construction group ACS a year ago, and the subsequent restructure of the company…..

Leighton's name dates back 65 years to 1949, when the construction group was formed in Melbourne by Englishman Stanley Leighton.


UPDATE

Financial Review, 4 April 2016:

The Tax Office is investigating more than 800 high net wealth Australian clients of the controversial Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca, which is the focus of an unprecedented leak of tax haven records released globally.

More than 11.5 million documents have been leaked from Mossack Fonseca's files, revealing the secrets of hundreds of thousands of clients – including several thousand Australians – covering a period over almost 40 years, from 1977 until as recently as last December.

The release of the documents on Monday follows a 12-month investigation by media groups including The Australian Financial Review, led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in Washington.