|
Norway police to investigate DNO share
deals
9.10.2009
|
|
|
|
October
9, 2009
OSLO,
Norway,— Norway's police economic
crimes unit will investigate transactions made in
oil company DNO International's shares, including
trades involving the Kurdish Regional Government
(KRG) in Iraq's north.
DNO sold 44 million of its own shares last year to
the KRG, which ended up in the hands of
privately-held Turkish company Genel Energy, in the
process of merging with Heritage Oil -- a
London-listed oil company active in Kurdistan.
Norway's financial watchdog Kredittilsynet had asked
the police to probe the transactions.
'We have evaluated the material from the Financial
Supervisory Authority and the Oslo Bourse, looked at
what has been written in the media,www.ekurd.netand
found it reasonable to evaluate whether a criminal
act has been made,' state prosecutor Arnt Angell at
the economic crime unit told Reuters.
'We have noted that the KRG has earlier said they
want to cooperate with us,' he said.
Shares in DNO fell 8.4 percent to 4.70 crowns by
0747 GMT against a flat Oslo bourse benchmark index.
DNO said earlier this week it was restarting
operations in northern Iraq after the KRG reinstated
DNO's rights to production-sharing agreements with
immediate effect, lifting a suspension that had been
in place since Sept. 21.
The KRG suspended DNO's licences after details of a
Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE) probe, which revealed the
KRG's role, were made public. The KRG said the
revelations had caused it 'unjustifiable and
incalculable harm.'
The row over the share transactions has undermined
faith in licences signed between the KRG and western
oil companies.
Copyright, respective author or news agency,
Reuters
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
®
