Court orders arrest of ExxonMobil CEO Richard Laing

Court orders arrest of ExxonMobil CEO Richard Laing
Richard Laing

 

A Federal High Court, Abuja has issued an arrest warrant against the Managing Director of ExxonMobil Nigeria, Richard Laing.

Justice Okon Abang on Friday 29 January 2021 granted the application of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the Bench Warrant, according to EFCC spokesman Wilson Uwujaren.

The EFCC reportedly approached the court for the warrant after three invitations to the ExxonMobil chief were rebuffed.

The commission is investigating alleged procurement fraud in a major integrity pipelines project. The project involved Mobil Producing Nigeria as the contracting company and Suffolk Petroleum Services Limited (SPSL) as the main contractor. Saipem Contracting Nigeria, Global Offshore Limited and Van Ord were the sub-contractors to SPSL.

At issue is the alleged fraudulent creation of change orders worth over $213million.