British £4.9m Iraqi oil bribery plot man Stuart Whiteley jailed

A British businessman who was involved in a £4.9m bribery plot to win oil deals in Iraq has been jailed.

Stephen Whiteley conspired to pay bribes to state-owned firms and politicians after Saddam Hussein was overthrown after the Gulf War in 2003.

The 65-year-old, from Beverley, East Yorkshire, was involved in a plot to secure contracts worth £650m.

Jailing Whiteley for three years, a judge at Southwark Crown Court said custody was the only option.

Whiteley had previously been convicted of conspiracy to make corrupt payments alongside fellow businessman Ziad Akle, 45.

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During their trial, the court was told both men were managers with Monaco-based energy consultancy Unaoil and had conspired to pay bribes to public officials to secure oil contracts for their firm and its clients.

Akle, from Marylebone, London, who is a British-Lebanese national was jailed for five years earlier this month for two counts of conspiracy to make corrupt payments.