Fairfax Media and Huffington Post’s investigations further reveal Unaoil’s facilitation of corruption in Asia. The involvement of well-known companies Samsung, Hyundai, Singapore’s Keppel and South Korea’s ISU, is documented in emails and leaked documents, demonstrating the ‘pervasive culture of corruption across the region.’ In fraudulent, uncompetitive bids for contracts, Unaoil also facilitated South Korean companies to enter the African oil industry, specifically Algeria, bribing officials from the Algerian state-owned oil company, Sonatrach.
Investigations also reveal that Malaysian company Petronas’ contract with the Iraqi government to manage oil fields was tarnished by Unaoil, who bribed officials to allow its client, Britain’s Petrofac, to secure business.
China does not escape from these allegations, with Unaoil becoming the agent for a subsidiary of Chinese (government controlled) Sinopec. In return for large repayments, senior businessmen promised access and information to Unaoil with regards to Chinese ventures.
