$240 Million Anti-Corruption Fine for Bribery Case

Anti-corruption compliance is becoming more valuable as the number of corruption and bribery fines has increased. SBM Offshore has agreed to pay Dutch Authorities $240 million in a recent bribery case, according to the article, SBM Offshore Pays $240 Million to resolve Dutch Bribe Allegations, receives DOJ declination, by Nicolas Torres from the FCPA Blog. SBM provides services in floating production systems for the oil and gas industry. Due to a larger crack down on anti-corruption, they have recently been faced with a large fine for their alleged bribery actions with government officials in Angola, Brazil, and Equatorial Guinea:

“Prosecutors claimed that Netherlands-based SBM paid sales agents $200 million in commissions between 2007 and 2011, with tens of million of dollars allegedly used to pay for services for government officials. Including school fees and transportation.”

An internal investigation was conducted on SBM that determined the company paid “$18.8 million in commissions to Equatorial Guinea and $22.7 million in commissions to Angola between 2007 and 2011.” The SBM Offshore aims at putting these corrupt practices in the past and focusing on a more ethical and transparent supply chain:

“‘SBM Offshore made it clear that it wants to conduct its business transparently,’ the company said. A new management board appointed in 2012 "has repeatedly stressed the importance of compliance inside and outside the organization,’ it said.”

SBM Offshore has made its goal clear  to stay in compliance with anti-corruption in order to prevent future wrong doings associated with the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act. The need for an effective compliance program that safeguards against corrupt practices is growing among companies large and small.        

There are many components companies should consider for a cost and time efficient anti-corruption management system, including scope and quality of risk assessment and training and capacity building. Source Intelligence, a leading supply chain transparency company, powered by the Center for Responsible Enterprise and Trade (CREATe), is offering a limited number of available openings to assist in identifying corruption vulnerabilities. With an analysis from Source Intelligence, it is a prime opportunity to obtain industry knowledge, industry leading expertise, and thorough evaluation. If you would like to participate, please use this link.