SEC Fines Brooge Energy $5 Million for Allegedly Inflating Revenue
23 December 2023 - 2:14AM
Dow Jones News
By Dean Seal
Brooge Energy will pay a $5 million fine to settle U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission allegations the United Arab
Emirates-based energy company created false documents to support a
$500 million stock sale that inflated its revenue from certain oil
facilities over a three-year period.
The agency said in an order Friday that Brooge gave auditors
false invoices that inflated revenue from its oil facilities in
Fujairah, the main oil-storage hub of the United Arab Emirates, by
more than $70 million between 2018 and early 2021.
The SEC claims former Chief Executive Nicolaas Lammert
Paardenkooper and former interim-CEO Lina Saheb knew of the fraud
or were reckless in not knowing of it.
Without admitting or denying the findings, Brooge has agreed to
pay a $5 million penalty while Paardenkooper and Saheb will each
pay $100,000 fines to settle the claims. The two individuals have
also agreed to be permanently barred from serving as an officer or
director of a public company.
Nasdaq-listed Brooge agreed during the course of the SEC's
investigation not to follow through with the $500 million stock
sale at issue. In April, the company restated its financial
statements from 2018 through 2020.
Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 22, 2023 09:59 ET (14:59 GMT)
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