SEC Investigates ExxonMobil, Conoco, and Occidental Over Libyan Connections

(June 21, 2011) — The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Occidental Petroleum Corp. over their connections to Libya, the Dow Jones Newswires has reported.

A spokesperson for ExxonMobil told the news service that the oil giant is cooperating with the US regulator’s request over its dealings with the country’s sovereign wealth fund. ConocoPhillips and Occidental also confirmed cooperation.

The disclosure follows the SEC’s investigation into whether Goldman Sachs and other financial firms possibly violated bribery laws in dealings with the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), which is reportedly controlled by Moammar Gadhafi. Furthermore, the SEC is asking oil companies for any type of communications they held with the government of Gadhafi since 2008. Since Libya’s sovereign wealth fund launched in 2007, several other financial firms were found to have started doing business with the LIA. While Libya’s sovereign wealth fund made its strongest relationships with Goldman Sachs, the fund also invested with Societe Generale, HSBC, JP Morgan, Carlyle Group, Lehman Brothers, and Och-Ziff Capital Management Group.

In a separate anti-bribery probe, the US regulator has requested that banks and private equity firms relay information about working with national public pension funds and sovereign wealth funds.