The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) recent fine as part of a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into foreign corrupt practices by Swiss energy trader Vitol S.A. should force companies with any exposure in the commodities market to reexamine their risk profiles, experts say.
Included in the DOJ’s December $164 million enforcement action against Vitol was the first-ever CFTC fine for a violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The CFTC penalized Vitol for the effect bribes it paid to Brazilian, Ecuadorean, and Mexican officials had on the commodities market. The CFTC’s order concluded that “Vitol’s conduct was intended to secure unlawful competitive advantages in trading physical oil products and related derivatives to the detriment of its counterparties and market participants.”
