Further to a report by its Board, and the announced (and pending but not yet effective) departure of their CEO for authorizing mysterious payments, the RCMP have done the logical thing and investigated. Two other executives have left the company. A contractor is in jail in Mexico, and has been interviewed by the RCMP.
The core of the scandal, and presumably the search warrants is a reported $55M in likely improper payments, and over $20M missing cash in Libya.
The company is distancing itself from ‘rogue’ executives, and cooperating fully with the authorities.
This is the next step in a story which is a long way from over.
The Board (in this case, in place of the CEO) has to lead in these circumstances, and the company’s values need to be crystal clear. There are many ways that a failure to lead in this situation can create damage, from reputation risk, to legal liability, to financial penalties, to the company’s core ethics posture.