Malaysia: Aker Solutions manager charged over ‘misleading’ Petronas

An Aker Solutions manager in Malaysia has been charged due to allegations that he had submitted false documents in dealings with state-owned energy giant Petronas, Reuters reports.

The case comes amid investigations by the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) into whether the Norwegian company provided false information regarding the ownership of one of its entities to win Petronas licenses.

The licenses are normally reserved for companies that met ethnic quota requirements under local law.

According to Reuters, the manager is accused of submitting documents in August 2018 intended to mislead a Petronas subsidiary that Aker Engineering Malaysia would qualify as a Bumiputera-owned firm when it did not.

It was reported that the accused pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he could face five years in jail, a fine, or both.

Aker Solutions said it is seeking further information on the questioning, however, it is confident its entities in Malaysia had fulfilled all applicable licensing requirements.

“The documentation and information regarding the company set-up have been disclosed in all license renewal processes to verify that the companies meet the requirements for local licenses. In 2017, the licenses were renewed after clarification meetings with relevant authorities. The latest renewal of the licenses was in mid-2020,” Aker stated.

The Norwegian company has six subsidiaries registered in Malaysia, where its Asia Pacific headquarters is based.

Aker Solutions concluded that it does not expect the process to have any significant impact on operations in Malaysia.