A U.S.-based company has agreed to pay more than $84 million to resolve investigations by authorities in the U.S. and Brazil into the bribery of foreign officials in Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina. This includes a criminal penalty of $52.5 million and approximately $28 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest to be paid to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
According to a Department of Justice press release, between 2011 and 2016 the company caused hundreds of bribe payments to be made to officials at government agencies and instrumentalities in Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina to obtain and retain business and secure improper advantages in connection with providing services. In perpetrating this scheme, an executive at the company’s Latin America division directed employees in the company’s offices in Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina who paid bribes, typically in cash, that were calculated as a percentage of the underlying contract payments owed to the company from government customers. In all three countries, the co-conspirators tracked the bribe payments through spreadsheets and described the bribes through code words and euphemisms.
The company has entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ to settle charges that these actions violated the anti-bribery provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the FCPA’s books and records provisions. As part of this agreement the company will pay the penalty set forth above, continue to cooperate with the DOJ in any ongoing or future criminal investigations relating to this conduct, continue to enhance its compliance program, retain an independent compliance monitor for two years, and self-report to the DOJ for the remainder of the agreement.
The DOJ notes that the DPA reflects the company’s failure to voluntarily and timely disclose the conduct at issue as well as the nature, seriousness, and pervasiveness of the offense. However, the company also received full credit for its cooperation with the DOJ’s investigation and engaged in extensive remedial measures. Accordingly, the criminal penalty reflects a 25 percent reduction off the bottom of the applicable U.S. Sentencing Guidelines fine range.
For more information on the FCPA and how to ensure your company’s compliance, please contact Kristine Pirnia at (202) 730-4964 or via email.
Copyright © 2024 Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A.; WorldTrade Interactive, Inc. All rights reserved.