The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Friday that Singapore-based shipbuilder Keppel Offshore & Marine and its US subsidiary have agreed to pay $422 million to settle charges relating to bribery of officials in Brazil.
Keppel, the world’s leading oil rig builder, admitted to a former agent of the company paying bribes to officials of Brazil’s state oil firm Petrobras and Brazilian politicians over a period covering 2001-2014. Those bribes amounted to $55 million in return for 13 contracts with Petrobras and Sete Brasil.
It is a part of the bribes-for-inflated-contracts scandal that has roiled Petrobras and Brazilian politics for years.
Keppel was charged with violating America’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. It is estimated to have earned $351.8m through the bribery.
Of the $422m penalty, Brazil will receive $211m and Singapore up to $105.6m.
Surely not, not in squeaky clean Singapore …
And to have released the news late on Xmas eve too …
US DoJ released the news on the 22nd…
Anyway, it could have been worse.
Keppel managed to reduce the fine by 25% by cooperating with the authorities and implementing corrective/preventative measures.
In the process, several heads rolled…