A group of Lloyd’s syndicates has sought to block £45m in defence funding for two former Petrofac executives, Marwan Chedid and George Salibi, who are facing a criminal bribery trial. The syndicates provided directors’ and officers’ (D&O) insurance coverage to the former chief operating officer and former chief operations officer of Petrofac.
The insurers argued that the alleged fraud violated the policy, filing a claim in the High Court in August to withdraw the coverage. However, in September, Mr Justice Jacobs ruled that the insurers could not withhold funding and must continue to cover the executives unless the bribery allegations are proven in court. The parties were at the Court of Appeal on Thursday as several syndicates sought to overturn this ruling.
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) brought criminal charges against Mr Chedid and Mr Salibi in February 2024. They are accused of offering and paying agents over $30m to influence the awarding of contracts worth approximately $3.3bn in Petrofac’s favour. Both Mr Chedid and Mr Salibi have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The SFO confirmed that the trial against Mr Chedid and Mr Salibi, which was due to start on 2 November, will now begin on 23 November at Southwark Crown Court. Petrofac itself pleaded guilty on 4 October 2021 to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act.