A Scottish oil firm has been hit by a major proceeds of crime action after admitting corruption in Kazakhstan.
International Tubular Services Limited (ITS) has paid £172,200 after a dirty money investigation by the Crown's crack Civil Recovery Unit or CRU.
The company admitted that it had benefited from corrupt payments made by a former Kazakhstan-based employee to secure additional contractual work from a customer in Kazakhstan.
The bribery and corruption was discovered when the company was being sold, according to the Crown.
Parker Drilling Company, which has now acquired ITS, have taken steps to implement comprehensive anti-bribery policies and training to ensure that no unlawful conduct will take place in the future.
ITS reported their discovery of the corrupt payments to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in November 2013 under the self-reporting initiative.
The funds, which will now be remitted to the Scottish Consolidated Fund, represent the total profit made under the corrupt contract in Kazakhstan.
Linda Hamilton, Head of the Civil Recovery Unit, said:
"Bribery and corruption undermines legitimate businesses and can harm economic development, and we are committed to tackling it wherever it is found.
"In appropriate circumstances, the self-reporting initiative allows for companies to accept their involvement in corrupt practices, put in place effective systems to prevent it from recurring, and repay the illegitimate profits.
"In this case, we have recovered over £170,000 from ITS, which will be transferred to the Scottish Government to be reinvested back into Scottish communities."
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