Offshore drilling contractor, Vantage Drilling Company, announced this month in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it has launched an internal investigation into potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
In an Form 10-Q, published on Aug. 4, Vantage said it “became aware of media reports” in July that one of its agents in Brazil used in the contracting of the Titanium Explorer drillship “has entered into a plea arrangement with the Brazilian authorities in connection with the agent’s role in obtaining bribes on behalf of former Petrobras executives.”
Vantage said it confirmed that the agent provided evidence to the Brazilian authorities of an “alleged bribery scheme between the former Petrobras executives and a former director of Vantage.” The director, Hsin-Chi Su, was the sole owner of the company that owned Titanium Explorer at the time the agent allegedly paid the bribe.
Vantage said it has self-disclosed the investigation to the SEC and the Department of Justice. “We continue to investigate the matter, but as of now, our internal and independent investigations have found no evidence of wrongdoing by our employees or participation in any manner with the inappropriate acts alleged to have been conducted by the agent,” the company said in its Form 10-Q.
The company said it has not been contacted by any governmental authority regarding the allegations, but added that it “cannot predict whether any governmental authority will seek to investigate the matter.”
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