DOJ commodities trader FCPA sweep offers lessons in cooperation

The value the Department of Justice (DOJ) places on cooperation can be measured by studying penalties and agreements resulting from the agency’s long-running investigation into bribery and corruption by oil traders operating in Latin America and Africa.

The probe so far has netted more than $1.7 billion in penalties and forfeitures for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) related to bribery and other charges from six companies, the DOJ announced in a press release Thursday.

For cooperation credit, the companies received fine reductions of up to 25 percent and, in two cases, deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs). In at least one case, when the agency wasn’t satisfied with the level of cooperation, it let the hammer fall and exacted a larger fine and required ongoing compliance monitoring.