Dublin and London-listed exploration company Dragon Oil has today said that an investigation into purchasing irregularities by former senior managers at the group will not affect its financial position.
The company, which is 52 per cent owned by the government of Dubai, issued a statement on February 26th saying that it was investigating “certain possible irregularities identified in its procurement procedures”.
The investigation forced the company to delay the publication of its 2008 results while Dragon considered its findings. The group said today it will now annouce its full-year results on Friday.
Preliminary findings from the investigation, which was carried out by KPMG, indicate that improper conduct relating to procurement activities was confined to the group's marketing and contracts departments.
In a statement issued today, the firm said that a number of individuals managed to override the various internal controls in the procurement process through collusion and appear to have obtained financial benefits for themselves by securing improper payments from certain contractors.
"The Board is greatly reassured by the preliminary findings from the investigation, which confirm our initial understanding that there will be no material impact on the Group’s financial position,” said Dr Abdul Jaleel Al-Khalifa, Dragon Oil's chief executive.
“I am also personally pleased that these irregularities were identified internally and that we commissioned the investigation promptly. We have already replaced the managers involved and appropriate steps have been taken following the identification of these irregularities. We will continue to execute Dragon Oil’s strategy of growth and diversification."
Dragon is an oil exploration and production company whose activities are focused mainly on fields in the Caspian Sea off the Turkmenistan coast.
