Unaoil S.A.M. was a Monaco-based group of affiliated companies that provided services for various multinational companies operating in the energy sector. Unaoil maintained business operations through its various subsidiaries and affiliates in multiple countries, including in Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Libya, the United Arab Emirates, and elsewhere, and at one point, the company directly and indirectly employed or retained over 1,400 employees and contractors.
Cyrus Allen Ahsani was a citizen of the United Kingdom, Iran, and, until July 2011, a citizen of the United States. Ahsani became an executive at Unaoil in 1991 and later became the company's Chief Executive Officer in 1994.
Saman Ahani was a citizen of the United Kingdom and Iran, who became an employee of Unaoil in 2003. Ahsani later became Unaoil's Commercial Director and Libya Territory Manager, and in 2011, Ahsani became the company's Chief Operations Officer.
According to documents in this case, from approximately 1999 to 2016, the Ahsanis conspired with others, including multiple companies and individuals, to make millions of dollars in bribe payments to government officials in Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Libya and Syria in order to obtain business for Unaoil and its client companies. Among the client companies were Rolls-Royce plc, SBM Offshore N.V., and dozens of unnamed multinational corporations. Rolls-Royce and SBM Offshore both previously settled FCPA enforcement actions with the DOJ.
On March 4, 2019, the DOJ filed a single count Information in the Southern District of Texas against the Ahsanis alleging conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA, to commit money laundering, and to destroy, falsify, or alter records. According to a DOJ press release, the Ahsanis pled guilty on October 30, 2019, but the details of any plea agreement are not currently known.
On January 30, 2023, the court sentenced Saman to one year and a day in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release and ordered him to forfeit $1.5 million and pay a mandatory assessment of $100.
Cyrus is currently scheduled to be sentenced on November 17, 2025.
