Italy markets watchdog imposes sanctions on Petrofac CEO

LONDON: Italy’s markets watchdog CONSOB has imposed sanctions on Petrofac CEO Ayman Asfari, including a €300,000 ($354,000) fine, in relation to dealing in shares of an Italian company, Petrofac said on Thursday.
The investigation by the Italian National Commission for Companies and the Stock Exchange (CONSOB) concerned a transaction made in 2012 involving the shares of a listed Italian company, Asfari said in a statement.
“The premise of CONSOB’s case was that I met with an Italian executive who provided inside information. I can show irrefutable evidence that such a meeting never took place,” he said.
He also added that he did not receive a notification from CONSOB of the charges and therefore did not have the chance to defend himself.
Petrofac said Asfari had informed the company he believed the decision to be wholly without merit, and is determined to contest the decision and the process by which it was conducted, to the fullest possible extent.
The sanctions include a 12-month disqualification from taking up a management role with any Italian-listed company and an property confiscation order with a value of €385,000.
Petrofac’s chairman Rijnhard van Tets, said the board fully supported Asfari in his defense against the decision.
The company itself is under investigation by Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) for its dealings with Monaco-based Unaoil, which Petrofac said it had engaged primarily in Kazakhstan to provide local consultancy services between 2002 and 2009.