Enforcement Action

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Bio-Rad Laboratories, a life sciences research company, with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act when its subsidiaries made improper payments to foreign officials in Russia, Vietnam, and Thailand to win business. The company, which self-reported the misconduct, agreed to pay $55 million to settle charges. More inside.

A former employee with International Relief and Development Inc., a government contractor, has pleaded guilty to charges of bribery in connection with a federal program and attempting to avoid currency transaction reporting requirements. The announcement was made this week by Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. George Green, 57, of Carrollton Texas, faces a 46-month prison sentence and a forfeiture of $51,000.

The U.K. Serious Fraud Office SFO announced that it has charged logistics and freight operations company F.H. Bertling, a U.K.-based subsidiary of the German-headquartered Bertling Group, and seven individuals with one count of making corrupt payments, contrary to Section 1 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Jaclyn Jaeger reports.

Frank’s International, a Netherland’s-based oil and gas company, said in a filing with the SEC that it is conducting an internal investigation into operations of certain of its foreign subsidiaries in West Africa including possible violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the company’s policies and other applicable laws. Jaclyn Jaeger reports.

Brazil-based petrochemical giant Braskem has reached a $10 million proposed settlement with U.S. investors for concealing its role in a bribery scheme involving state-owned oil company Petrobras.

Following a federal investigation into fraud in college basketball, the NCAA announced that it is making ‘substantive changes’ to the way it operates, forming a Commission on College Basketball.

The Milan Public Prosecutor’s Office has charged several senior Royal Dutch Shell executives in Italy for their role in a widespread bribery scheme to acquire oil exploration rights in Nigeria.

Two former executives at Dutch oil and gas services company SBM Offshore have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for their roles in a scheme to bribe foreign government officials in Brazil, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea.

Singapore-based Keppel Offshore & Marine and its wholly owned U.S. subsidiary will pay a combined $422 million criminal penalty to resolve charges with authorities in the United States, Brazil, and Singapore arising from a decade-long to pay millions of dollars in bribes to officials in Brazil. 

A former sales executive of Brazilian-based aircraft manufacturer Embraer pleaded guilty last week in connection with a scheme to pay bribes to a high-level foreign government official in exchange for assistance in securing Embraer’s sale of aircraft to Saudi Arabia’s national oil company.

The former national director of anti-corruption in Colombia pleaded guilty this week in federal court for bribery and his participation in a conspiracy to launder money.

According to the Wall Street Journal, U.S. authorities are investigating Microsoft over a bribery and corruption matter in Hungary, some details of which the company shared with Compliance Week.