Guilty plea in multi-million pound energy corruption case
11 May, 2015 | News Releases
Following a joint investigation by the SFO and City of London Police into the awarding of contracts in a series of high-value infrastructure projects, Graham Marchment today pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 2.5 years imprisonment for his role in the conspiracy.
Marchment, (57), a British national originally from West Sussex, but resident in the Philippines in recent years, pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court to three counts of conspiracy to corrupt, contrary to section 1(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977. He was sentenced to 2.5 year’s imprisonment on each count, to be served concurrently.
His guilty plea follows the conviction after trial of four co-conspirators as part of the same case in January 2012. Between 2004 and 2008, Marchment conspired with his co-defendants, Andrew Rybak, Ronald Saunders, Philip Hammond and others to obtain payments by supplying confidential information in relation to oil and gas engineering projects in Egypt, Russia and Singapore. Marchment worked as a procurement engineer and deliberately leaked confidential information to bidders in exchange for payments disguised as commission. The contracts that Marchment was involved in, which were worth around £40 million, related to projects in the following locations:
- Western Desert, Egypt
- Sakhalin Island, Russian Federation
- Singapore
Commenting on the case, HHJ Taylor said:
“You [Marchment] with your experience knew that the information you were passing was confidential and would be useful to rival bidders… You were in a position of trust … [yet] were motivated by greed.”
Joint Head of Bribery at the SFO, Matthew Wagstaff said:
“This result brings to a close a seven-year SFO-led investigation that covered numerous foreign jurisdictions. Collaboration with national and international agencies enabled the SFO to secure Marchment’s conviction, despite his attempts to evade justice for this greedy and parasitic crime. Special thanks go to City of London Police, who referred the case to the SFO and with whom we worked closely throughout the investigation.”
Marchment was living in the Philippines when the SFO informed him that he was wanted for questioning in the UK. At the time, there was no extradition treaty between the Philippines and the UK. Marchment refused to return to the UK and so did not stand trial with his co-defendants. When his passport expired and he was unable to renew it because of the outstanding arrest warrant, he returned to the UK in December 2014, whereupon he was arrested and charged. He was denied bail.
City of London Police Detective Constable Martina McGrillen said:
“Marchment’s imprisonment is a tribute to both the Serious Fraud Office and the City of London Police’s determination to see justice served in full for all those involved in this case of international corruption. It also sends out a clear message that if you break UK laws you should expect to face the consequences in a British court. Hiding away overseas is not the answer; it is just delaying the inevitable.”
Compensation and confiscation will be determined at a later date.
Notes to Editors:
- The SFO would like to thank City of London Police, the UK Passport Office, the Home Office, the National Crime Agency and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for their assistance during this case.
- Counsel for the SFO was Alex Ward of 9-12 Bell Yard. Representing Marchment was Abdullah Al-Yunusi of MPR solicitors.
- More information on the related convictions and sentences here and here.