LONDON: Two former managers of Monaco-based energy consultancy Unaoil have been convicted in Britain of bribing Iraqi officials to clinch lucrative oil projects as the war-ravaged country tried to boost exports after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
The verdict marks a milestone in the British arm of a four-year, global inquiry into how Unaoil, once run by the prominent Ahsani family, helped major Western companies secure energy projects across the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa over two decades.
A London jury found British-Lebanese Ziad Akle, Unaoil’s former Iraq territory manager, and Stephen Whiteley, a British former manager for Iraq, Kazakhstan and Angola, guilty of plotting to make corrupt payments to secure oil contracts between 2005 and 2010.
But after a marathon 19 days of deliberations, the jury was unable to reach a verdict in the case against Paul Bond, a British one-time Middle East sales manager for Dutch-based oil and gas services company SBM Offshore. He faces a retrial, the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) confirmed on Monday.
The three men denied any wrongdoing.
The judge lifted reporting restrictions on Monday after a drawn-out trial that was suspended in March as the coronavirus brought parts of the criminal justice system to a halt, and restarted in May in a new court to allow jurors to socially distance.
“These men dishonestly and corruptly took advantage of a government reeling from dictatorship and occupation and trying to reconstruct a war-torn state,” said SFO head Lisa Osofsky following the verdicts against Akle and Whiteley.
“They abused the system to cut out competitors and line their own pockets.”
The agency has now secured three convictions in the case after Basil Al Jarah, Unaoil’s 71-year-old former country manager for Iraq, pleaded guilty last year.
The principal suspects in the case, brothers Cyrus and Saman Ahsani, evaded British investigators and pleaded guilty to bribery in the United States after an extradition battle in Italy in 2018.
Akle, 45, Whiteley, 65, and Al Jarah will be sentenced on July 22 and 23, the SFO said.
BRIBERY
Prosecutors said the defendants had conspired with others to pay bribes to public officials at the Iraqi South Oil Company and, in Al Jarah’s case, Iraqi Ministry of Oil representatives, to secure oil contracts for Unaoil and its clients.
Al Jarah admitted to paying more than $6 million in bribes to secure contracts worth $800 million to supply oil pipelines and offshore mooring buoys. Akle and Whiteley were found guilty of paying more than $500,000 in bribes to secure a $55 million contract for offshore mooring buoys.
In his defense, Akle said payments were authorized for security purposes. Whiteley denied knowing about payments but said he wanted a “level playing field” during a competitive tender.
A lawyer for Whiteley was unable to comment and legal representatives for Akle and Bond did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
![]()
Former Unaoil managers convicted in Britain of Iraq bribery
Short Url
https://arab.news/ckshd
Former Unaoil managers convicted in Britain of Iraq bribery
- The verdict marks a milestone in the British arm of a 4-year, global inquiry
South Korea court sentences former first lady to jail term for bribery
- Prosecutors had sought a 15-year jail term for the wife of ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol
- Kim Keon Hee has been detained since August and denied all charges
SEOUL: A South Korean court sentenced former first lady Kim Keon Hee on Wednesday to one year and eight months in jail after finding her guilty of accepting Chanel bags and a diamond pendant from Unification Church officials in return for political favors.
The court cleared Kim, the wife of ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol who was ousted from office last year, on charges of stock price manipulation and violating the political funds act.
Prosecutors will appeal against the two not-guilty verdicts, media reports said.
The ruling, which can also be appealed by the former first lady, comes amid a series of trials following investigations into Yoon’s brief imposition of martial law in 2024 and related scandals involving the once-powerful couple.
The position of first lady does not come with any formal power allowing involvement in state affairs, but she is a symbolic figure representing the country, the lead judge of a three-justice bench said.
“A person who was in such a position might not always be a role model, but the person must not be a bad example to the public,” he said in the ruling.
The court ordered her to pay a 12.8 million won ($8,990) fine and ordered the confiscation of the diamond necklace. Kim has been held in detention since August while she was being investigated by a team led by a special prosecutor.
Prosecutors had demanded 15 years in jail and fines of 2.9 billion won over all the accusations she faced.
The court cleared Kim on charges of manipulating stock prices and violating political funding laws.
Kim had denied all the charges. Her lawyer said the team would review the ruling and decide whether to appeal the bribery conviction.
Kim, clad in a dark suit and wearing a face mask, was escorted by guards into the courtroom at the Seoul Central District Court and sat quietly while the verdict was delivered.
Supporters of Yoon and Kim, who braved freezing temperatures outside the court compound, cheered after the not-guilty verdicts on two of the charges were delivered.
The Unification Church said the gifts were delivered to her without expecting anything. Its leader Han Hak-ja, who is also on trial, has denied that she directed it to bribe Kim.
Shaman, political broker
Kim had drawn intense public scrutiny even before her husband was elected president in 2022 over questions about her academic records and lingering suspicion that she had been long involved in manipulating stock prices.
Her alleged association with a political broker and a person known as a shaman also drew public criticism that the two may be unduly influencing the former first couple.
Yoon, who was ousted from power last April, also faces eight trials on charges including insurrection, after his failed bid to impose martial law in December 2024.
He has appealed against a five-year jail term handed to him this month for obstructing attempts to arrest him after his martial law decree.
At a separate trial this month, prosecutors have sought the death penalty for Yoon on the charge of masterminding an insurrection. The court will rule on the case on February 19.
Yoon has argued it was within his powers as president to declare martial law and that the action was aimed at sounding the alarm over the obstruction of government by opposition parties.
The court cleared Kim, the wife of ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol who was ousted from office last year, on charges of stock price manipulation and violating the political funds act.
Prosecutors will appeal against the two not-guilty verdicts, media reports said.
The ruling, which can also be appealed by the former first lady, comes amid a series of trials following investigations into Yoon’s brief imposition of martial law in 2024 and related scandals involving the once-powerful couple.
The position of first lady does not come with any formal power allowing involvement in state affairs, but she is a symbolic figure representing the country, the lead judge of a three-justice bench said.
“A person who was in such a position might not always be a role model, but the person must not be a bad example to the public,” he said in the ruling.
The court ordered her to pay a 12.8 million won ($8,990) fine and ordered the confiscation of the diamond necklace. Kim has been held in detention since August while she was being investigated by a team led by a special prosecutor.
Prosecutors had demanded 15 years in jail and fines of 2.9 billion won over all the accusations she faced.
The court cleared Kim on charges of manipulating stock prices and violating political funding laws.
Kim had denied all the charges. Her lawyer said the team would review the ruling and decide whether to appeal the bribery conviction.
Kim, clad in a dark suit and wearing a face mask, was escorted by guards into the courtroom at the Seoul Central District Court and sat quietly while the verdict was delivered.
Supporters of Yoon and Kim, who braved freezing temperatures outside the court compound, cheered after the not-guilty verdicts on two of the charges were delivered.
The Unification Church said the gifts were delivered to her without expecting anything. Its leader Han Hak-ja, who is also on trial, has denied that she directed it to bribe Kim.
Shaman, political broker
Kim had drawn intense public scrutiny even before her husband was elected president in 2022 over questions about her academic records and lingering suspicion that she had been long involved in manipulating stock prices.
Her alleged association with a political broker and a person known as a shaman also drew public criticism that the two may be unduly influencing the former first couple.
Yoon, who was ousted from power last April, also faces eight trials on charges including insurrection, after his failed bid to impose martial law in December 2024.
He has appealed against a five-year jail term handed to him this month for obstructing attempts to arrest him after his martial law decree.
At a separate trial this month, prosecutors have sought the death penalty for Yoon on the charge of masterminding an insurrection. The court will rule on the case on February 19.
Yoon has argued it was within his powers as president to declare martial law and that the action was aimed at sounding the alarm over the obstruction of government by opposition parties.
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.