Canadian-based mining company settles SEC FCPA charge

Financial Crimes SEC Anti-Corruption

The SEC fined a Canadian-based mining company $950,000 for its failure to implement and maintain adequate accounting controls at two subsidiaries in Ghana and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. The company neither admitted nor denied the allegations. According to the SEC, the company acquired the subsidiaries in 2010 understanding that they lacked anti-corruption compliance programs. After three years of internal audits raising red flags, the company did implement adequate controls, however it did not maintain them. The SEC found that the company then awarded a contract to a sub-standard company preferred by Mauritanian officials, despite the company's internal bidding and tendering procedures. The company also failed to conduct required due diligence when it awarded a politically connected consultant a contract to facilitate government contracts.