Russell Waugh steps down at UGL to fight Leighton corruption claims RUSSELL Waugh has stepped down as chief executive of UGL's engineering business in the wake of allegations made against him in the Leighton Iraq bribery scandal. In a statement to the stock exchange, UGL chief executive Richard Leupen said: ""In order to protect the best interests of UGL's clients and key stakeholders, we have mutually agreed that the most appropriate outcome is for Russell to step down in order to privately defend the allegations made against him." "This decision is not reflective of any view held by UGL on the allegations made against Russell Waugh during his tenure with Leighton," Mr Leupen added. Mr Waugh issued a statement yesterday in response to allegations that he knew about kickbacks to secure contracts when he managed the company's offshore oil and gas business in the Middle East between 2009 and 2010, saying the allegations were baseless and that he left the company on good terms.