Australian company faces corruption charges in Iraq

and the payment of bribes in Iraq and other countries.

The accusations led to the decline of the company's shares by ten percent.

Investors and analysts lessened from the media reports, which they say as raised old allegations linked to the previous administration and did not damage the new company’s reputation. They pointed to the company’s efforts over the past two years to improve the commitment to business ethics.

Fairfax Media Group said citing the company’s internal memos that senior managers in Leighton were aware of the alleged plans to pay bribes of millions of dollars in Iraq, Indonesia and Malaysia, as reported by Reuters and briefed by "Shafaq News”.

Iraq is among the most countries in the world that suffer from corruption, according to reports from international organizations. As investors often complain from corruption and bureaucracy.

In a statement of almost three pages to the Supervisory Board of the Australian stock market, Leighton said that it is not aware of any new allegations or cases of violation of business ethics except what has already been revealed of paying bribes in Iraq and Indonesia.

Australian police are investigating into possible corruption cases related to contracts in Iraq after Leighton voluntarily revealed in 2011 a possible violation of the work ethic.