SBM Offshore alleges blackmail for $4m by former employee

Once the company dismissed the threat, details of the material, which was obtained or retained illegally, were posted to Wikipedia. The information has since been removed, but remains in the site's archive.

The allegations include a containment, or cover up, of malpractice.

In a statement, SBM said: "The document published on the internet is not a company produced document. Since the investigation is still ongoing, SBM Offshore cannot comment on its contents, however it is safe to note that it is partial, taken out of context and to the extent factually correct, isoutdated. As such, it is not representative of the facts as the company understood them then, or understands them now. The company denies any allegations of containment."

SBM said it is unable to comment in any detail on the allegations as the investigation by relevant authorities and forensic accountants continues.

The former employee left SBM in June 2012, the termination was mutual and initiated by the employee. The attempted extortion started in June 2013 and the documents were posted online in October 2013.

SBM has publicly disclosed for over 18 months that there are ongoing investigations into potential improper sales practice relating to two African countries and another outside Africa.

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