SBM Offshore to Pay $238 Million in #Bribery Case Spanning Five Countries – gCaptain
▻http://gcaptain.com/sbm-offshore-to-pay-238-million-in-bribery-case-spanning-five-countries
Netherlands-based offshore company SBM Offshore and its U.S. subsidiary SBM Offshore USA have reached an agreement to pay a criminal penalty of $238 million to resolve criminal charges in the U.S. in connection with schemes involving the bribery of foreign officials in Brazil, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan and Iraq, the Justice Dept. announced Wednesday.
SBM Offshore USA pleaded guilty on Wednesday to violation Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in connection with the resolution.
[…]
Pursuant to its agreement with the Department, SBM agreed to pay a total criminal penalty of $238 million to the United States, including a $500,000 criminal fine and $13.2 million in criminal forfeiture that SBM agreed to pay on behalf of SBM USA.
According to the companies’ admissions and court documents, beginning by at least 1996 and continuing until at least 2012, SBM conspired to violate the FCPA by paying more than $180 million in commissions to intermediaries, knowing that a portion of those commissions would be used to bribe foreign officials in Brazil, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan and Iraq.
“SBM made these payments in order to influence those officials, for the purpose of securing improper advantages and obtaining or retaining business with state-owned oil companies in the five named countries. SBM acknowledged that it gained at least $2.8 billion from projects it obtained from these state-owned oil companies,” the Justice Dept. said in a statement.
Morale (ou pas…)
• à l’avenir, il faut prévoir une provision supplémentaire de 10% (238 M$ de surcoût pour un bénéfice de 2800 M$)
• à verser au budget fédéral états-unien qui, bien sûr, est au dessus de tout soupçon de #corruption et fait régner la loi et l’ordre dans le monde des affaires (il se contente de faire du chantage aux opérateurs, cf. banques, assurances, sport, etc.)
• voire moins, si on ne se cache pas trop afin d’éviter l’accusation de conspiracy.
Sur ce dernier point, c’est un peu délicat, il ne faudrait quand même pas qu’on finisse par croire que corrompre un gouvernement fait partie du mode opératoire standard dans tous ces secteurs.