Ethics and compliance officers might want to pay special attention to the Justice Department’s recent settlement of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act charges against chemical company Innospec, which is emerging as the latest cautionary tale about overseas bribery, self-disclosure, and global anti-corruption enforcement.
Innospec, a $600 million chemical company based in Newark, Del., pleaded guilty March 18 to fraud charges stemming from kickbacks the company paid to the former Iraqi government under the U.N. Oil for Food Program, and to violating the U.S. embargo against Cuba by selling chemicals to Cuban power plants. In a complicated settlement with the Justice Department, Securities and Exchange Commission, and the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office, it agreed to pay a total of $40.2 million in fines and to implement stepped up compliance procedures.
