Asphalt company Sargeant Marine has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and agreed to a $16.6 million criminal fine to resolve charges that it paid bribes to foreign officials in three South American countries, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday.

Jaclyn Jaeger is a freelance contributor to Compliance Week after working for the company for 15 years. She writes on a wide variety of topics, including ethics and compliance, risk management, legal,...