Kuala Lumpur: Three members of Tanjung Offshore’s executive board have been suspended for alleged misconduct that could have contributed to the cancellation of Tanjung’s takeover of Bourbon Offshore Asia Pacific.
“The possible conflicts of interest and breaches of fiduciary duty may have resulted in, among others, loss of business opportunity and potential income stream related to the Bourbon deal,” said Tanjung in a statement today..
Tanjung’s executive director Muhammad Sabri bin Ab Ghani has been suspended with immediate effect, as has Tan Sri Tan Kean Soon, a non-independent director and advisor. Both will remain directors of the company, Tanjung said.
Dato Harzani bin Azmi, another paid advisor to the Malaysia-listed company, has also been suspended. His earlier nomination to the board of directors will not be considered, Tanjung says.
Tan and Sabri are accused of several instances of possible conflict of interest and breach of fiduciary duty, both individually and together. Harzani is involved in allegations of breaches of procedure and limits of authority.
“Bourbon had informed that the aforesaid directors of Tanjung have approached Bourbon for a vessel contract in Malaysia during the period of heads of agreement for a personal company linked to the non-independent non-executive director of Tanjung,” the company stated.
The employees’ alleged misconduct may also have resulted in the “negotiation of disadvantageous and lopsided contract terms and potential future loss related to the construction work request (CWR) project, and the dissemination of confidential company information to third parties related to both the Bourbon transaction and the CWR project”, Tanjung said today.
Tanjung’s proposed takeover of Bourbon Offshore Asia Pacific was mutually terminated by both parties at the end of December 2014. “The economic and financial conditions for an agreement satisfying both parties cannot be met in view of the declining oil prices,” Tanjung said at the time.
The alleged conflicts of interest could potentially jeopardise Tanjung’s relationship with China’s CNPC Offshore Engineering (CPOE), with whom negotiations are ongoing for a drilling contract in Malaysia.
The company said there also appears to have been elements of “collusion/collaboration” in ongoing negotiations with a potential subcontractor, which could have increased costs for Tanjung.
The three executives were suspend on the recommendation of an independent committee established by the company earlier this month. The committee was formed to review on various media reports surrounding the company and and make recommendations accordingly. [28/01/15]
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