Stan, Australia’s unrivalled home of original productions, today announced that the Stan Original Documentary Revealed: Bribe, Inc. will premiere in November
Directed by Peter Klein, and produced by Calyn Shaw, feature-length documentary Bribe, Inc. chronicles award-winning journalist Nick McKenzie’s worldwide investigation into the bribes, crimes and corruption rife in the oil industry, and the Monaco-based Ahsani family at the centre of one of the biggest bribery schemes in modern history.
The case came to light after McKenzie helped break open bribery allegations at Australian engineering giant Leighton Holdings (now CIMC). Leighton executives David Savage and Russell Waugh will soon appear in court defending foreign bribery charges, which relate to revelations from those implicated in the schemes detailed in Revealed: Bribe, Inc.
Nick McKenzie said: “This story started with an anonymous letter in the mail and led to one of the biggest international bribery probes in the world. This doco takes people inside what was one hell of an investigative journalism adventure.”
Director Peter Klein said: “This bribery scandal is monumental, involving powerful politicians all over the globe, and some of the world’s biggest companies. In all my years investigating corruption, I’d never seen anything like this.”
Producer Calyn Shaw said: “One of the fascinating parts of making this film was the level of secrecy surrounding Unaoil and the Ahsanis. Even after Nick’s original reporting exposed their vast web of bribery leading to their guilty pleas in a U.S. federal court, most people, including former employees and clients, even law enforcement, were very reluctant to speak with us about Unaoil or the Ahsanis.”
From the outside, the Ahsani family’s company Unaoil held a stellar reputation – hosting fundraisers and hobnobbing with royalty, celebrities and politicians. The Ahsani family built themselves on being generous and trustworthy, and had long denied any involvement in corrupt activity. But, when investigative journalist Nick McKenzie receives intel from a whistleblower and former employee known as ‘Figaro’, this triggers the biggest exposé of bribery and corruption in modern history.
Investigating the Ahshani family – Ata Ahsani and his sons Cyrus and Saman – Nick discovers that Unaoil, based in Monaco, has paid multi-million dollar bribes to some of the biggest companies across Europe, North America and Australia. Nick and Figaro, armed with over 317,000 leaked files, follow the money trail and chase down the criminals – a manhunt spanning the globe from Iraq to Monaco, Rome, London, Australia, and the U.S.
The ensuing manhunt, spanning several continents, eventually involves the US Department of Justice and the FBI, and triggers a $12 million police investigation as authorities work tirelessly to bring the Ashani family to justice. Revealed: Bribe, Inc.is the eleventh title in Stan’s landmark Revealed documentary slate. An Australian Canadian collaboration, produced by 1441 Productions, directed by Peter Klein, written and produced by Peter Klein and Calyn Shaw. Stan Executive Producers are Cailah Scobie and Alicia Brown.
