The Australian Federal Police has laid an additional foreign bribery charge against a 54-year-old Brisbane man.
AFP investigators arrested the former director of Leighton Offshore Pte Ltd in November 2020, as part a long-running foreign bribery investigation, known as Operation Trig.
The new charge, is related to the foreign bribery investigation, known as Operation Amber, which began in July 2014. It followed a report from the Australian-registered company Leighton Holdings Ltd over alleged improper payments made by its Singapore-registered operating company Leighton Offshore Pte Ltd.
“The allegations related to a contract for a single point mooring replacement project in Tanzania in 2009 and 2010. The contract was allegedly valued at USD $66.48 million,” the AFP said in a statement.
Police allege public officials in the Tanzania Ports Authority responsible for awarding the contract were the targets of the bribery scheme.
The investigation allegedly identified approximately USD $4 million in suspicious payments that were incorporated into Leighton Offshore Pte Ltd. subcontracts with third-party contractors.
“AFP investigators worked closely with international law enforcement partners and the Tanzanian Prevention and Combatting of Corruption Bureau during the six-year investigation to seize more than one million documents and obtain evidence from five countries,” the AFP said.
The Brisbane man is scheduled to appear in Sydney Downing Centre today to face the foreign bribery charges laid against him.
The AFP has not ruled out further arrests or charges, saying their investigations are continuing.
