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UK Serious Fraud Office recovers bribe from diplomat from Chad
In what the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is calling a first, a £4.4 million recovery from a corruption case will be returned overseas. The SFO prevailed in a trial before the UK High Court and recovered the money from Chadian diplomats, including the wife of the former Deputy Chief of the Chadian Embassy to the United States who was received the money in the form of discounted shares of a Canadian oil company. The company also paid “consultancy fees” to diplomats through a front company called “Chad Oil” set up five days before the agreements with the diplomats. In exchange for the payments, the company received exclusive development rights in Chad.
The case has continued for some time—the company paid a C$10 million criminal fine in Canada in 2013. After the company was taken over by a UK corporation, the U.S. DOJ filed an In Rem. complaint and later requested SFO assistance.
This recovery will be “transferred to the Department for International Development who will identify key projects to invest in that will benefit the poorest in Chad.”
SFO confirms opening of criminal investigation into aerospace and defense group
On January 18, the Serious Fraud Office (“SFO”) confirmed the opening of an investigation of an aerospace and defense group and its subsidiary into alleged bribery, corruption, and money laundering. The UK-based company that designs and makes products in the aerospace and defense industries, stated that the investigation followed a voluntary report from the subsidiary relating to “two specific historic contracts.” According to the company, the first of these contracts was awarded before the company took over the business group being investigated, while the second contract occurred after the acquisition. The company stated that they will fully cooperate with the SFO’s investigation and provide further updates.
$2.95 Billion Settlement Reached in Brazilian Multinational Corporation Class Action
On January 3, 2018, a Brazilian multinational corporation announced that it has agreed to pay $2.95 billion to resolve the securities class action pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York regarding the company’s well-known corruption scandal in Brazil. The class action claimed that investors were harmed by alleged corruption when contractors overcharged the company and kicked back some of the overcharges through bribes to the company's officials. Under the proposed settlement, the company has agreed to pay the funds in three installments. The agreement does not constitute any admission of wrongdoing or misconduct by the company and the company claims that this reflects its status as a victim of the acts uncovered in Operation Car Wash, as the corruption investigation in Brazil is known. The settlement agreement is still subject to approval by the District Court.
Past ScoreCard coverage related to the corruption allegations and investigation can be found here.
International Financial Institution Sanctions Two French Companies for Corruption in Developing Countries
An international financial institution recently sanctioned two French companies for separate allegations of corruption in developing countries. On November 30, the financial institution announced that a French digital security company, was debarred for 2.5 years for “corrupt and collusive practices” related to a project that would establish a national ID system in Bangladesh. As part of its Negotiated Resolution Agreement (NRA), the company acknowledged “improper payments to a sub-contractor and collusive misconduct to obtain and modify bid specifications to narrow competition and secure the award of the contract.” The company was credited for its “extensive cooperation” with the financial institution’s investigation, including voluntarily acknowledging the misconduct, proactively conducting an internal investigation, holding individuals accountable, and taking “preliminary steps to improve its governance and compliance procedures.”
On December 5, the financial institution separately announced that a French manufacturing company, was debarred for two years for a “corrupt practice” related to a project that would improve electricity infrastructure in the Congo. The financial institution's investigation found evidence that the company “made improper payments to an employee of a consulting company to influence a tender process.” Under the NRA, the manufacturing company’s parent company was also “conditionally non-debarred” for an 18-month probationary period. The holding company for the entities agreed to pay €6.8 million to the Congo, and the companies agreed to develop and implement a “group-wide integrity compliance program.” The holding company was credited for its “ongoing cooperation” with the financial institution's investigators, “acceptance of responsibility,” and “voluntary corrective and remedial actions.”
German Software Company Self-Discloses Approximately $6.8 Million in Payments to Gupta Family-Related South African Entities
On October 26, a German multinational software corporation, announced that it has voluntarily disclosed commission payments of approximately $6.8 million to a wealthy South African family's related entities to the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The voluntary disclosure in July has led to an ongoing DOJ and SEC investigation into the company's conduct.
The company acknowledged that between December 2014 and June 2017, contracts with two South African state-owned companies were closed with the assistance of family-related entities. The company’s internal investigation has also led to the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against three employees in South Africa. The family, which is connected to South African President Jacob Zuma, has previously denied wrongdoing associated with receiving such kickbacks. While acknowledging cooperation with the DOJ and the SEC, the company stated that it has had no interaction with South African authorities and has not decided whether the company will approach South African authorities in the future. The U.S. investigation is ongoing and the company has acknowledged that it has begun the process of sharing documents with authorities.
Former Guatemalan Soccer Executive and Judge Sentenced in Investigation
On October 25, Judge Chen of the U.S. District Court for the E.D.N.Y. sentenced the former general secretary of Guatemala’s soccer federation and a former judge to eight months in prison and ordered restitution of $415,000 and forfeiture of $175,000. His sentence comes after a guilty plea to wire fraud and conspiracy in June 2017. He was arrested in 2015 as part of the U.S. government’s investigation into corruption in a soccer association. His sentencing marks the first individual sentenced among a group of more than 40 individuals who have been indicted or pleaded guilty since 2015.
This sentencing comes as part of the U.S. government’s ongoing investigation into corruption in international soccer which has been ongoing. Previous FCPA Scorecard coverage of the investigation can be found here.
Brazilian Petrochemical Company Reaches $10 Million Settlement With Investors
On September 14, a Brazilian petrochemical company, agreed to pay its U.S. investors $10 million for concealing its role in a corruption scandal involving a Brazilian multinational corporation in the petroleum industry. The settlement resolves a 2015 lawsuit brought by U.S. investors against the petrochemical company, which alleged the company had misled investors into believing its operations were legitimate. The settlement follows the December 2016 guilty plea by the company and its affiliated construction firm to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Together, the companies agreed to pay $3.5 billion in a combined global settlement with U.S., Brazilian, and Swiss authorities.
Swedish Prosecutor Charges Russian Sales Executive with Bribery of Azerbaijan Officials
On Friday, August 18, a Russian employee of a Swedish branch of a Canadian producer of aircraft and train equipment, was charged by a Swedish prosecutor with aggravated bribery. The sales executive is alleged to have bribed a public official in Azerbaijan to win a contract valued over $300 million to supply Azerbaijan with a signaling system for its railways. The executive was first detained in March 2017 and has been held in custody since that time. If convicted, he faces six years imprisonment and deportation.
According to a March 2017 report by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), an investigative reporting network spread across Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America established in 2006 to conduct transnational investigative reporting to expose global organized crime and corruption, the company was suspected of paying “millions of dollars in bribes to unidentified Azerbaijani officials through a shadowy company registered in the United Kingdom,” which the Swedish prosecutor has characterized as having “no employees or business” but which profited substantially in this deal by purchasing equipment from the company and selling the identical equipment to the company's Azerbaijan affiliate for a profit. According to export records reviewed by the OCCRP, the equipment was delivered directly from the company to Azerbaijan. The report identified the UK intermediary, which, according to an earlier OCCRP report is alleged to have ties to the former president of a russian railways company, and is alleged to have had similar involvement in a contract with the company and Russia.
German Multinational Chemical Company Agrees to Pay DOJ More Than $11 Million, Receives Declination of FCPA Charges
On Friday, June 16, the DOJ issued a declination letter to attorneys for North American affiliates of a German multinational chemical company, in which the DOJ declined prosecution and closed an investigation of the company and certain of its subsidiaries and affiliates regarding potential FCPA violations that occurred between November 2006 and December 2009. The affiliates, which trades only on German stock exchanges and which has no securities registered with the SEC, agreed to pay DOJ a combined $11.2 million in disgorgement and forfeiture.
According to the DOJ letter, a New Jersey-based company acquired by the affiliate companies in October 2006, made corrupt payments to officials at and related to a Republic of Georgia state-owned and controlled entity to ensure continuity of business. Upon discovering this conduct, the affiliates initiated an internal investigation and subsequently withheld monies earmarked for a company controlled by the Georgian entity. These monies comprise the approximately $3.4 million that the affiliates agreed to forfeit.
The DOJ letter stated that its decision is consistent with the FCPA Pilot Program, launched in April 2016 to encourage companies “to voluntarily self-disclose FCPA-related misconduct, fully cooperate with the Fraud Section, and, where appropriate, remediate flaws in their controls and compliance programs.” Accordingly, the DOJ determined that the affiliates had, among other things, voluntarily self-reported potential FCPA violations, conducted a thorough and proactive internal investigation, and continues to cooperate fully and remediate its compliance program and internal controls. Notably, the DOJ letter does not foreclose future prosecution of any individuals, and the letter explicitly delineates DOJ’s expectation that the affiliates will continue cooperating fully in any ongoing investigation of individuals.
Senators Introduce Combating Global Corruption Act of 2017
Senator Ben Cardin and Republican co-sponsors recently introduced a bill titled the “Combating Global Corruption Act of 2017,” which seeks “to identify and combat corruption in countries, to establish a tiered system of countries with respect to levels of corruption by their governments and their efforts to combat such corruption, and to assess United States assistance to designated countries in order to advance anti-corruption efforts in those countries and better serve United States taxpayers.”
This bill, if enacted, would require the Secretary of State to publish annual rankings of foreign countries split up into three tiers that depend on whether those countries’ governments comply with “minimum standards for the elimination of corruption.” The introduced bill defines corruption as “the exercise of public power for private gain, including by bribery, nepotism, fraud, or embezzlement.”
Once a country’s tier-rank is established, the bill would then require the Secretary of State, Administrator of USAID, and the Secretary of Defense to take various steps, including the creation of a “corruption risk assessment” and “corruption mitigation strategy” for U.S. foreign assistance programs; fortified anti-corruption and clawback provisions in contracts, grants and other agreements; disclosure of beneficial ownership for contractors and other participants; and mechanisms to investigate misappropriated funds.
If passed into law, this bill would create substantial new enforcement powers to combat international corruption activities. And, unlike the current ambiguity under the FCPA regarding its applicability to state-owned or state-controlled enterprises (“SOEs”), as drafted, this bill expressly would cover SOEs. Like the FCPA, however, this bill also contains a broad national security waiver component, if the Secretary of State “certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that such waiver is important to the national security interest of the United States.”