Aberdeen iTS Pays £172,000 Over Kazakhstan Corruption
17 December 2014
An Aberdeen company has paid more than £170,000 under Proceeds of Crime legislation after admitting bribery and corruption in Kazakhstan, the Crown Office has said.
The Civil Recovery Unit secured £172,200 after a International Tubular Services (iTS) accepted that it had benefited from unlawful conduct.
The company supports activities for petroleum and natural gas extraction.
It admitted benefitting from corrupt payments made by a former employee.
It was discovered when the company was being sold to Parker Drilling Company.
'Undermines businesses'
The discovery was reported to the Crown Office by iTS itself.
Linda Hamilton, head of the Civil Recovery Unit, said: "Bribery and corruption undermines legitimate businesses and can harm economic development, and we are committed to tackling it wherever it is found.
"In appropriate circumstances, the self-reporting initiative allows for companies to accept their involvement in corrupt practices, put in place effective systems to prevent it from recurring, and repay the illegitimate profits.
"In this case, we have recovered over £170,000 from ITS, which will be transferred to the Scottish Government to be reinvested back into Scottish communities."
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