Weir Group pays out £14m in sanctions breach

The Glasgow based Weir group has agreed to pay nearly £14m after admitting to breaching UN sanctions in connection with the oil-for-food programme.

The programme was set up in 1995 to allow Iraq to sell oil in exchange for food and medicine.

Weir said it had made irregular payments to an agent in Iraq and said it had agreed to return the money gained from the deals.

The company will be formally charged at the High Court in Edinburgh.

The pump and valve maker could then be fined.

Lord Smith, chairman of Weir, commented: "What happened was wrong. As I said in 2004, I am bitterly disappointed that this went on within the Weir Group.

"Since 2004, when we first disclosed the issue, we have radically overhauled procedures. A strong ethics culture is in place across the group and it is the reference point for everything we do."