The chief executive of the Leighton construction company says he is shocked to have uncovered an alleged case of improper payments by one of the company's subsidiaries in Iraq.
Leighton Holdings said on Monday that the Australian Federal Police (AFP) were investigating payments that might have been made in relation to work its subsidiary Leighton Offshore was doing to expand offshore loading facilities for crude oil exports from Iraq.
Leighton CEO Hamish Tyrwhitt said the parent company volunteered the information about possibly illegal conduct to the AFP after becoming aware of it, and was co-operating with the investigation.
"If true, it obviously comes as a shock, not only to me but everybody," Mr Tyrwhitt said on Monday during the company's first half earnings presentation in Sydney.
"We reviewed it and we decided before we investigated it or tried to validate it ourselves, we would go and ask for advice from the AFP on how to handle this, in case there was any substance to that breach."
The AFP confirmed on Monday it had received a referral from Leighton Holdings on November 7, 2011, "relating to alleged improper payments" made by Leighton Offshore.
"As this is an ongoing investigation, it is inappropriate to comment further," it said in a statement.
Mr Tyrwhitt said Leighton Holdings had disclosed the news pre-emptively and in full co-operation with the AFP.
"We had legal advice we didn't have to disclose," he said.
"We sat there and we decided it wouldn't be appropriate to communicate such positive results and then in X number of weeks come to the market with this news, if there is any substance."
