Clawback of dividends by the SFO – implications for investors

The Serious Fraud Office's order required Mabey Engineering Holding to repay £131,000 in dividends it had received from its subsidiary, Mabey & Johnson. Mabey & Johnson had been successfully prosecuted in 2009 for corruption and breaches of UN sanctions in relation to bridge-building contracts in Iraq. As such, the dividends paid to the shareholder on the back of the Iraqi contracts were found to represent the proceeds of a crime. Read on to learn about what action private equity and traders are undertaking, or what plans should be considered.