Prized BP gasfields off the coast of Senegal should be subject to an investigation after allegations of suspicious payments by a former owner to the brother of the country’s president, opposition politicians have said. The British oil major first bought into the fields in 2016 and it said last year that it was pressing ahead with a huge project to develop the gas. The history of the fields is under intense scrutiny after the BBC broadcast allegations of suspicious payments by Petro-Tim, which first won the rights to explore the area, to Aliou Sall, the brother of Senegal’s President Sall. The BBC claimed that BP was aware of the allegedly suspicious payments when it acquired interests in the fields. BP said that it “rejects any…

Source: The Times June 04, 2019 23:00 UTC