Aussie media lifts lid on oil industry corruption

Australian media has lifted the lid on allegations of corruption in the oil industry dating back decades, implicating global companies, officials and ministers, likely renewing investigations that had stalled.

Hundreds of internal emails from Monaco-based company Unaoil, leaked to Fairfax Media and published late Wednesday night as part of a six-month long investigation, allegedly show the family-owned business acting as a middle man to funnel multi-million dollar bribes to state officials deciding contracts on rig projects in the Middle East.

The emails implicate global corporates such as U.S. based Halliburton, South Korea's Samsung and Hyundai, Australia's CIMIC Group -- formerly Leighton Holdings -- and Britain's Rolls Royce, among others.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) confirmed to Xinhua on Thursday it is conducting an investigation into the allegations "that employees of the Leighton Group companies were involved in the payment of bribes during two oil projects in Iraq in 2010 and 2011."

"As the investigation is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further," an AFP spokesperson said in a statement. No charges have yet been laid.

However, the actions of CIMIC Group are just a small side portion, with Fairfax Media reporting Unaoil paid millions of dollars in kickbacks to a "fixer linked to Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, senior officials from Libya's Gaddafi regime, Iranian oil figures, powerful officials in the United Arab Emirates and a Kuawiti operator known as "the big cheese."

In one instance, Fairfax said money was paid to middlemen in a bid to influence senior Iraqi officials, including the deputy prime minister, to win more than 1.3 billion U.S. dollars in oil contracts.

The documents allege some business either did not know or believe corruption was occurring, while others ignored or actively participated. The tactics employed include bribing officials, avoiding or rigging tender committees or obtaining leaked information for advantage.

A spokesperson for Unaoil was quoted by Fairfax as denying any wrongdoing, saying the family-owned company "absolutely does not bribe officials."