FCPA Scorecard Blog
DOJ Reopens SBM Offshore Bribery Probe
On February 10, 2016, Dutch oilfield company SBM Offshore announced that the U.S. DOJ has now re-opened its investigation into allegations that SBM paid bribes to secure contracts in various countries around the world. SBM stated that the DOJ has made "information requests" in connection with the bribery investigation and that SBM is "seeking further clarification about the scope of the inquiry." SBM previously had reached a $240 million settlement with Dutch authorities in November 2014 to resolve allegations involving bribes to government officials in Angola, Brazil, and Equatorial Guinea between 2007 and 2011. At the time, SBM announced that the DOJ had simultaneously closed its investigation into the same matter. Its most recent announcement, however, shows that the U.S. government has rekindled its inquiry. SBM also announced that it has reserved $245 million to cover a possible settlement with Brazilian authorities. This announcement comes on the heels of a January 2016 settlement between the Ministerio Publico Federal (MPF), Brazil's Public Prosecutor's Office, and SBM's CEO and a member of SBM's supervisory board apparently tied to the ongoing Petrobras scandal in Brazil. Click here to view previous FCPA Scorecard coverage of the SBM investigation.