Shareholder and consumer rights law firm Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP is investigating whether certain officers and directors of Cobalt International Energy Inc. (CIE) breached their fiduciary duties to the company and shareholders by failing to disclose corruption in its Angola oil business and the true value of its oil wells in Angola, the law firm said Feb. 1. The investigation concerns when, and how much, certain Cobalt officers and directors knew or should have known.

On Jan. 19, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas upheld securities class action claims against Cobalt and certain officers and directors. The claims allege that from March 1, 2011, to Nov. 3, 2014, the defendants misrepresented Cobalt's relationship with two Angolan entities – Nazaki and Alper – as being its "partners" in developing oil wells, when they were actually sham entities funneling funds to the head of Angola's state-owned oil company and two top Angolan government officials.

The class action also alleges that the defendants misrepresented that Cobalt had several "large, oil-focused high-impact wells" in Angola including its Lontra and Loenga wells, when in fact, Lontra was primarily gas-based and Loenga contained neither oil nor gas.

Long-term holders of Houston-based Cobalt’s stock are urged to contact the firm.