Reuters reported that one of Aker’s managers was being questioned by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
The investigation centres around allegations that Norway’s biggest oil services company made false representations to win licences from Petronas that are normally reserved for companies that meet ethnic quota requirements under Malaysian law.
Reuters said the attorney-general’s office and prime minister’s office did not respond to requests for comment on the case. It said Petronas also did not respond to a request for comment.
It said MACC had issued a press release inviting media to cover a court case today involving the senior vice-president of an engineering company, but gave no further details.
Aker told the news agency it was seeking further information on the questioning of its manager.
The company said it was confident its entities in Malaysia had fulfilled applicable requirements, adding that documentation and information regarding its set-up had been disclosed during licence renewal processes.
Aker’s licences were last renewed in mid-2020, it said.
“Together with the involved manager in Malaysia, the company will work on providing and clarifying additional information required by the authorities,” Aker said.
It said it did not expect the process to have any significant impact on its Malaysian operations.
Reuters reported three sources – two from MACC and another who is familiar with the case – as saying an Aker executive is accused of submitting documents aimed at misleading Petronas that one of Aker’s subsidiaries would qualify as a Bumiputera-owned company, when it did not.
The Aker executive was expected to be charged with the offence of cheating, two of the sources said. That offence carries a sentence of up to five years’ jail, a fine, or both, upon conviction.
Aker Solutions has six subsidiaries registered in Malaysia, where its Asia Pacific headquarters is based, according to its 2020 annual report.
Last year, the company reported revenue of 1.57 billion Norwegian kroners (US$189 million) from its Malaysian businesses. In 2019, it said it had been awarded an umbrella agreement for engineering services with Petronas.