Worley Ltd. (WOR.AX), an Australian company, declared on Wednesday that it disapproved of an arbitration tribunal’s decision to rule in favor of the Ecuadorian government in a dispute involving a service contract, citing the engineering firm’s actions as evidence of corruption.
A tribunal dismissed Worley’s arbitration late last month on jurisdictional and admissibility grounds, noting “wilful blindness” on the part of Worley towards the subcontractor’s wrongdoing. The charges included claims of corruption, illegality, or bad faith by the Australian engineering business and a subcontractor.
“Worley disagrees with the (tribunal) decision and is considering the options for further legal proceedings,” the business stated.
“Worley disputes any wrongdoing, corruption, or lack of integrity on Worley’s behalf. Specifically, it stated that Worley did not violate any anti-corruption or anti-bribery legislation.
The Sydney-based company said that after an inquiry uncovered the subcontractor’s malfeasance, it had severed its relationship with them. The subcontractor’s proprietors were deemed to be corrupt by an Ecuadorian court.
“Worley had followed proper processes, including conducting due diligence, and denies that it was wilfully blind in respect of the subcontractor’s corruption,” added the statement.
In response to accusations of misconduct and corruption by the government, Worley has sued Ecuador in 2019 to recover unpaid sums from contracts with the state-run Petroecuador connected to the refurbishment of the Esmeraldas refinery and other gas projects.
Petroecuador owed Worley A$58 million ($38.88 million) on a net basis, the business clarified on Wednesday. This debt has been shown as non-current in Worley’s periodic reporting since fiscal 2019.