PwC to probe Max Petroleum share option scandal
The suspension of two senior executives at oil group Max Petroleum, over the issue of undisclosed share options, is to be investigated by the AIM company’s auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers
Trading in
Max
Petroleum was suspended last week when the company announced that its chief
executive Steven Kappelle and chief operating officer Ole Udsen had been
suspended ‘pending an investigation into potential breaches of their employment
contracts involving the undisclosed receipt of share options’.
A spokesman confirmed that the company auditors PwC would conduct the
investigation, but would not disclose the timeline of the probe or any details
about the nature of the share options.
Before its suspension Max Petroleum, which owns a number of valuable licenses
in oil rich Kazakhstan, was one of the most heavily traded stocks on the junior
exchange.
The company was valued at £360m when trading in its shares was blocked.