Four former Swift Technical
Energy Solutions Ltd. employees were charged with conspiring to bribe
Nigerian officials to lower the taxes their workers paid in the
country. Three men and one woman, all British nationals, were charged
this morning at a London criminal court following a two- year probe of
the company,
which is a Nigerian subsidiary of the Swift Group companies, the U.K. Serious Fraud Office said in an e-mailed statement today.
The defendants -- a former chief
financial officer, tax manager, financial controller and area director
for Nigeria -- allegedly paid a total of 180,000 pounds ($292,000) in
bribes in 2008 and 2009 to agents of the Rivers State Board of Internal
Revenue and the Lagos State Board of Internal Revenue, according to
prosecutors.
The bribes were paid to avoid, reduce or
delay paying taxes on behalf of the oil- and gas-industry workers whom
Swift sent to Nigeria, the SFO said. The case was transferred to a
higher criminal court for a hearing on Feb. 22 and the defendants were
released on bail.
“The company itself is not under investigation and has fully supported the inquiry,” Swift spokesman Andrew Honnor said.
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