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Petrofac boss returns as adviser after suspension amid SFO probe

A senior executive at the London-listed oilfield services group Petrofac (Amsterdam: PF6.AS - news) is to return to the company temporarily nine months after he was suspended as part of a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) probe.

Sky News has learnt that Petrofac will announce alongside its annual results on Thursday that Marwan Chedid, its former chief operating officer,‎ is to return to the company in an advisory role.

A source said Mr Chedid would rejoin the business, which operates in 29 countries around the world, for up to nine months but had decided to leave once his advisory role concludes.

The SFO has been investigating Petrofac and some of its top executives as part of a broader criminal probe into Unaoil, a Monaco-based company.

Its inquiry is reported to relate to the provision of local consultancy services and the securing of contracts in countries including Kazakhstan and Syria.

Both Mr Chedid and Ayman Asfari, Petrofac's chief executive, were interviewed under caution by the SFO last year.

Earlier this month, the company said the agency's investigation was "wide-ranging in time and scope, and relates to the activities of Petrofac, its subsidiaries, and their officers, employees and agents for suspected bribery, corruption, and/or money-laundering".

Mr Ched‎id resigned from Petrofac's board when his suspension was announced last May, since when its shares have struggled despite a series of major contract wins.

Petrofac declined to comment on Wednesday.