Press release by the Department of Justice of the Principality of Monaco

Following an urgent request for international judicial assistance in a criminal case from the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO), and in accordance with the international agreements signed by the Principality of Monaco, searches were carried out at the residences of the managers of Monegasque company UNAOIL and at its head office in the Principality. The managers of the company were also interviewed on 29 and 30 March 2016.

The searches and interviews were carried out in the presence of British officials as part of a huge corruption case with international ramifications, implicating a number of foreign companies operating in the oil industry. Aspects of the inquiry will now be used by the British authorities in the course of their investigations.

These measures, which are evidence of the good cooperation between the SFO and the Monegasque judicial authorities, were executed in accordance with the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters and the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime.

This kind of mutual assistance is provided on a regular basis. The Department of Justice received 119 such requests during the 2014–2015 judicial year, which were followed up.