Australian construction giant CIMIC, formerly known as Leighton Holdings, has reportedly settled a long-running class action with investors over allegations its senior executives had knowledge of corrupt behaviour relating to the Unaoil bribery scandal that hit the company's share price.
The class action alleged that CIMIC failed to comply with its continuous disclosure obligations and engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct by withholding from shareholders that its executives "were, or may have been, aware of conduct which was corrupt or potentially corrupt."
The settlement follows the US Department of Justice revealing last month that Cyrus and Saman Ahsani, the two brothers who ran Unaoil, had pleaded guilty to conspiring to facilitate bribes on behalf of multinational companies to secure contracts in Africa and the Middle East.
In a statement on Friday CIMIC said:
"CIMIC Group Limited has reached a conditional settlement agreement in relation to a class action brought by certain shareholders who acquired an interest in CIMIC between23 November 2010 and 3 October 2013. The settlement will have no material impact on earnings or profit forecasts, and is subjectto approval by the Federal Court of Australia."
(Source: WA Today)
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