A U.S. judge dismissed a securities lawsuit against PetroChina on Tuesday that alleged the company failed to disclose corruption it flagged for government investigators and made misleading statements in two annual reports.
According to Bloomberg, U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos of Manhattan dismissed the lawsuit after finding the allegations were too vague and determining that the plaintiffs failed to pinpoint any wrongdoing.
The lawsuit, filed in 2013, alleged that PetroChina officials violated U.S. securities laws by failing to disclose alleged bribery, corruption and “undisclosed party transactions,” Reuters said.
The investors were looking to recoup losses incurred by purchasers of PetroChina securities from April 26, 2012, to December 17, 2013, claiming the losses were prompted by news reports of alleged corruption.
Although Judge Ramos said the complaint suggests that government officials suspected corruption at PetroChina he concluded that the plaintiffs failed to identify a specific case of wrongdoing.
The complaint was prompted in part by the 2013 arrest of former general manager of China National Petroleum Corporation Zhou Yongkang.
China National Petroleum Corp is the parent company of PetroChina.
The Chinese government reportedly seized more than $14.5 billion in assets from Zhou as part of its investigation in March 2014, an incident that was included in the investors’ complaint.
Zhou, 72, was sentenced to life in prison in June for corruption and other crimes, the AFP reported.
