The Department of Justice reports that a Germany-based company will pay more than $220 million to resolve allegations that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by bribing government officials in South Africa and Indonesia to obtain business.
According to a DOJ press release, between approximately 2013 and 2017 the company engaged in a scheme to bribe South African officials and to falsify its books, records, and accounts, all with the goal of obtaining improper advantages in connection with various contracts with South African departments, agencies, and instrumentalities. In addition, between approximately 2015 and 2018 the company engaged in a scheme to bribe Indonesian officials to obtain improper business advantages in connection with various contracts between and among the company and Indonesian departments, agencies, and instrumentalities.
Under a three-year deferred prosecution agreement the company will pay a criminal penalty of $118.8 million and administrative forfeiture of $103.4 million. It will also continue cooperating with the DOJ in any ongoing or future criminal investigation arising during the term of the DPA. The DOJ will credit up to $55.1 million of the criminal penalty against amounts the company pays to resolve an investigation by law enforcement authorities in South Africa and will also credit up to the full forfeiture amount against disgorgement the company pays to the Securities and Exchange Commission or South African authorities.
The press release said the company received credit for cooperating with the DOJ’s investigation and engaging in timely remedial measures, including (1) enhancing its compliance program, (2) undertaking a comprehensive risk assessment focusing on high-risk areas and enhancing its regular compliance risk assessment process, (3) significantly increasing the budget, resources, and expertise devoted to compliance, (4) enhancing and expanding compliance monitoring and audit programs, planning, and resources, including developing a well-resourced team devoted to audits of third-party partners and suppliers, and (5) expanding its data analytics capabilities to cover over 150 countries, including all high-risk countries globally.
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