July 14 - The UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has charged F.H. Bertling Ltd, together with seven former and current employees with one count of making corrupt payments contrary to section 1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906.
F.H. Bertling Ltd, along with Peter Ferdinand, 77, Marc Schweiger, 46, Stephen Emler, 48, Joerg Blumberg, 67, Dirk Juergensen, 45, Giuseppe Morreale, 61, and Ralf Peterson, 72 are alleged by the SFO to have conspired together and with others to bribe an agent of the Angolan state oil company, Sonangol, to further F.H. Bertling's business operations in that country.
The SFO stated that the alleged activity occurred between January 2005 and December 2006. The case was accepted for investigation by the SFO in September 2014.
F.H. Bertling Ltd, the UK-based subsidiary of the German-headquartered Bertling Group, and the seven individuals have been requisitioned to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on August 4, says the official SFO statement.
The SFO is responsible for investigating serious allegations of bribery and corruption.
