Anti-terror police in Yemen prevented the embezzlement of approximately $1.7 million from a Canadian oil company that has been operating in the Arab state since 1987.
Three men were arrested in Sanaa last week after they had electronically withdrawn $740,000 from Calgary-based Nexen’s $1.7 million bank account with the help of a company computer officer and alleged relative of the accused, reported local media.
The company accomplice transferred the money to one of Nexen’s Canadian accounts and then on to a US bank account. He then moved the funds into a Malaysian financial institute and from there he transferred the money to a commercial bank in Sanaa.
The perpetrators, two of whom were working from Malaysia, are suspected of decoding Nexen’s financials and transferring the money to a Yemeni account under the name of “Abdullah Mohammed Al-Qarmani.”
It is not known at this point if the thieves had any contacts with terrorist organizations, reported Gulf News. Police are currently searching for the company accomplice who is still missing.
Nexen derives over 50 percent of its overall oil production from the Masila Block in central Yemen. In mid-2002, production at the 14 Masila fields averaged 227,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (bopd). Nexen is the operator of the Masila Project and has a 52 percent working interest. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
