A Golar LNG internal investigation has cleared former Hygo Energy Transition chief executive Eduardo Antonello of wrongdoing while at the company.
The Tor Olav Troim-backed LNG player said the company had, with the help of outside advisors, found no evidence the embattled Antonello engaged in bribery at Golar.
The internal probe came after it emerged, on the eve of Hygo's planned $450m initial public offering, that the executive was under investigation for bribery in connection to prior work with Seadrill.
"The procedures undertaken by these advisors as part of the review have not identified evidence establishing bribery or other corrupt conduct involving Hygo," Golar LNG said on Wednesday.
"The board is pleased with the output to date and will continue its review and oversight in accordance with the ethical and corporate governance standards established by the applicable law."
Formerly known as Golar Power, Hygo was set to be listed on New York's Nasdaq in late September, finally completing Golar LNG's long-desired spin-off of its LNG carrier assets.
But the day before the shares were set to be priced, news broke that Brazilian federal police had executed 25 search warrants looking into $40m in bribes Antonello allegedly paid to secure a $2.7bn contract with Petrobras in 2011.
The warrants were the latest iteration of the long-running investigation into bribery schemes the state-controlled oil company known as Operation Car Wash.
Then, Antonello was working for John Fredriksen-backed Seadrill. Fredriksen once backed Golar, as well, until he had a falling out with chairman Troim.
New York-listed Golar LNG has always said Antonello's alleged conduct came before he worked at the company and did not implicate his work at Hygo.
Still, on 29 September, the company said Antonello was taking leave to address the accusations and on 12 October he was replaced by Paul Hanrahan.
Antonello, through his attorney, has said the allegations are based on accusations from whistleblowers and not based on facts.
The review was conducted by law firms Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Demarest Advogados and forensic accountants at FTI Consulting. It involved examining contracts, audit materials, corporate card expenses and Hygo's anti-corruption policies, as well as interviewing company personnel and representatives.
Around lunchtime on Wednesday, Golar LNG's shares were down $0.42 to $7.68. In the immediate aftermath of the Antonello investigation, the shares fell by $3.28 to $6.86.
