Innospec Related News
In March, Innospec (a global chemical company) settled bribery enforcement actions on both sides of the Atlantic (see here).
This post discusses recent Innospec news – the SEC enforcement action against an Innospec agent (an individual who previously plead guilty to a DOJ enforcement action – see here) and a former Business Director at the company; a civil suit filed by an Innospec competitor in U.S. District Court in Richmond, Virginia; and how Innospec continues to grow its cash coffers despite receiving a pass on $50 million in fines and penalties in the March enforcement action based on inability to pay.
SEC Enforcement Action Against Turner and Naaman
Last week, the SEC added to Ousama Naaman’s legal woes charging him (see here) with civil FCPA anti-bribery violations, knowingly circumventing or knowingly falsifying books and records, and aiding and abetting Innospec’s FCPA books and records and internal control violations. According to the SEC release (see here) Naaman, Innospec’s agent in Iraq, agreed to disgorge $810,076 plus prejudgment interest of $67,030 and pay a penalty of $438,038 that will be deemed satisfied by his criminal fine. The disgorgement amount represents commissions Naaman received from Innospec “for his role in funneling bribe payments.” To my knowledge, the approximate $877,000 the SEC will recover from Naaman is the largest SEC recovery against an individual FCPA defendant.
In the same complaint, the SEC also charged David Turner, the Business Director of Innospec’s TEL Group, with the same substantive charges as Naaman. According to the complaint, Turner (a U.K. citizen who left Innospec in June 2009) “actively participated” in Innospec’s bribery and kickback schemes in Iraq and “actively participated” in Innospec’s bribery scheme in Indonesia.
According to the complaint:
“Turner was aware of the kickback scheme in connection with the Oil for Food Program. At some point in late 2002 or early 2003 Innospec’s internal auditors questioned Turner about the nature of the commission payments that were made to Naaman under the U.N. Oil for Food Program. Turner made false statements to the auditors and concealed the fact that the commission payments to Naaman included kickbacks to the Iraqi government in return for Oil for Food contracts. Turner also made false statements when he signed annual-certifications that were provided to auditors up until 2008 where Turner falsely stated that he had complied with Innospec’s Code of Ethics incorporating the company’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act policy prohibiting kickbacks and bribery, and that he was unaware of any violations of the Code of Ethics by anyone at Innospec.”
Even after the Oil for Food Program was terminated in late 2003, the complaint alleges that “Turner, along with senior officials at Innospec, directed and approved” additional bribe payments to Iraqi officials. In addition, the complaint alleges that “Turner and other Innospec officials directed and authorized payments, through Naaman, to fund lavish trips for Iraqi officials.”
As to Indonesia, the complaint alleges that “Turner, along with senior officials at Innospec, authorized and directed the payment of bribes to Indonesian government officials from at least 2000 through 2005, in order to win contracts for Innospec for the sale of TEL to state owned oil and gas companies in Indonesia.” According to the complaint, Turner and other Innospec officials and employees used various “euphemisms” in e-mail communications and in discussions to refer to the bribery scheme.
According to the complaint, Turner “obtained $40,000 in bonuses that were tied to the success of the TEL sales, which were procured through bribery.”
According to the SEC release, Turner, without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations, consented to entry of a final judgment requiring him to disgorge $40,000. The release states that no civil penalty will be imposed on Turner “based on, among other things, Turner’s extensive and ongoing cooperation in the investigation.”
Competitor Sues Innospec
The FCPA does not have a private right of action (although as I explored in this post it would be interesting if a court were faced with this issue today).
However, a company that settles an FCPA enforcement action increasingly faces collateral litigation, most often shareholder derivative claims. If a plaintiff does craft a direct cause of action against the company, it is usually a RICO claim.
As noted in this Richmond Times-Dispatch story, NewMarket Corp.’s civil case against Innospec does not fit the above mold, rather it alleges that Innospec’s conduct, as set forth in the DOJ and SEC enforcement actions, violated the Robinson-Patman Act and the Virginia Antitrust Act as well as the Virginia Business Conspiracy Act.
The article quotes NewMarket’s principal financial officer as saying that the company learned of Innospec’s actions after reading the documents released in connection with the March enforcement action. Among other things, the DOJ and SEC alleged that Innospec’s bribe payments in Iraq ensured that a field test of a competitor’s fuel additive failed. NewMarket claims that the competitor was a subsidiary company Ethyl Petroleum Additives Inc. which now goes by the name Afton Chemical Corp.
Innospec Continues to Be In the Money
In this prior post I highlighted how Innospec was ordered to pay $60,071,613 in disgorgement in the SEC’s enforcement action, but because of Innospec’s “sworn Statement of Financial Condition” all but $11,200,000 of that disgorgement was waived.
In other words, Innospec got a pass on approximately $50 million in March.
I then noted that Innospec’s first quarter financial results were positive and that
“as of March 31, 2010, Innospec had $67.5 million in cash and cash equivalents, $22.5million more than its total debt of $45.0 million.”
Innospec recently reported its second quarter financial results and it continues to be in the money. As noted in this company release:
“As of June 30, 2010, Innospec had $77.0 million in cash and cash equivalents, $30.0 million more than its total debt of $47.0 million.”
The company’s President and Chief Executive Officer stated that “Innospec’s second quarter operating results were very strong, with impressive double-digit increases in sales and operating income across all three business segments.”
Holy Smokes
It’s a Friday in August, but a busy day for FCPA enforcement.
The DOJ and SEC announced today enforcement actions against two major tobacco companies, Universal Corporation, Inc. and Alliance One International, Inc.
“The DOJ filed criminal actions against a Universal subsidiary and two Alliance One subsidiaries charging each of them with one count of conspiring to violate the FCPA and one count of violating the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA. Universal and Alliance One entered into non-prosecution agreements with the DOJ and agreed to pay criminal penalties of $4,400,000 and $9,450,000, respectively, and retain independent monitors for a period of three years.”
The SEC charged Universal and Alliance One with violating, among other things, the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA for their “involvement in a multi-million dollar bribery scheme with government officials in Thailand to obtain nearly $30 million in sales contracts to supply tobacco. The SEC also charged Alliance One with paying bribes in Kyrgyzstan and making improper payments in China, Greece, and Indonesia and Universal with making improper payments in Malawi and Mozambique. Moreover, the SEC’s complaints alleged Universal and Alliance One engaged in books and records and internal control violations.”
More analysis to follow next week.
Paying to Secure Receivables Is Now Bribery?
Attention to companies (and employees) operating around the world.
If you are party to a contract, and a mid-level employee at the entity receiving services under the contract holds up payment of money the company is legitimately entitled to receive, but the mid-level employee requests payment in order to release the funds, and you make the requested payment, you are violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
That at least seems to be the message the SEC is sending in the Joe Summers enforcement action made public yesterday (see here and here)>
How such payments to receive what one is owed under a contract satisfies the FCPA’s “obtain or retain business” element is sure to be a question asked in light of this enforcement action.
According to the SEC complaint, Summers “was nominally employed by Pride International Personal Ltd. – a wholly owned subsidiary of Pride International Inc.” and “was responsible for managing the operations of Pride Foramer de Venezuela S.A.” The SEC complaint alleges however that Summer “functioned” as an employee or agent of Pride in that “Summers reported to, and was controlled by, Houston-based Pride officers” and further states that “Summers was responsible for, among other things, ensuring that Pride conducted its Venezuelan operations in compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, that adequate controls were in place to prevent illegal payments, and that the company’s books and records were accurate.”
According to the SEC complaint:
“Following widespread strikes and civil unrest in Venezuela in late 2002, Pride […] and other companies performing work for PDVSA (PDVSA is the Venezuela state-owned oil company) had difficulty collecting outstanding receivables from PDVSA. By early 2003, Pride […] had significant unpaid receivables for services that it had provided to PDVSA. In or around March or April 2003, Pride […] received information that a mid-level PDVSA accounts payable employee was holding up the payment of funds owed to Pride […] and wanted a payment of approximately $30,000 in order to release the funds due. In or around March or April 2003, Summers authorized a payment of approximately $30,000 to a third party, believing that all or a portion of the funds would be offered or given by the third party to an employee of PDVSA for purposes of securing an improper advantage in receiving payment from PDVSA. Shortly thereafter, in or around April 2003, Pride […] received overdue payments from PDVSA for work that Pride […] had performed.”
The above paragraph from the SEC complaint, while the most noteworthy, is not the only reason the SEC charged Summers with violating the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions, among other charges.
According to the SEC, Summers also authorized payments totaling approximately $120,000 through a vendor to a Miami bank account in the name of a Venezuela Intermediary who purported to represent a PDVSA official and who indicated he could assist Pride in obtaining an extension of a drilling contract.
Based on this core conduct, the SEC alleged that “Summers, by authorized or allowing his subordinates to execute the bribery scheme involving vendors, caused Pride […] to inaccurately record those payments as payments for goods and services received from the vendors.”
In addition to charging Summers with FCPA anti-bribery violations, the SEC also charged Summers with: (i) knowingly circumventing or knowingly failing to implement a system of internal accounting controls or knowingly falsifying books and records; (ii) aiding and abetting FCPA anti-bribery violations; and (iii) aiding and abetting violations of the FCPA’s books and records and internal control provisions.
According to the SEC release, without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations, Summers consented to entry of a permanent injunction and agreed to pay a $25,000 civil penalty.
According to the SEC’s complaint, “when subpoenaed to testify by the Commission’s staff during its investigation, Summers asserted his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.”
The enforcement action was prosecuted by the SEC’s Fort Worth, Texas branch office.
In December 2009, the SEC brought a related enforcement action against Bobby Benton (the former Vice President, Western Hemisphere Operations for Pride International, Inc.). See here.
For on Pride see here.
In its recent 10-Q filing, Pride had this to say regarding its FCPA exposure in connection with Venezuela and several other countries:
“We are engaged in discussions with the DOJ and the SEC regarding a potential negotiated resolution of these matters, which could be settled during 2010 and which, as described above, could involve a significant payment by us. We believe that it is likely that any settlement will include both criminal and civil sanctions. We have accrued $56.2 million in anticipation of a possible resolution with the DOJ and the SEC of potential liabilities under the FCPA.”
General Electric Settles Iraqi Oil For Food Matter
Just when you think Iraqi Oil for Food Program FCPA-related enforcement actions have run their course, along comes another.
The SEC announced this morning (see here) that General Electric Company (GE) agreed to resolve an FCPA books and records and internal controls enforcement action based on allegations that “two GE subsidiaries – along with two other subsidiaries of public companies that have seen been acquired by GE – made illegal kickback payments in the form of cash, computer equipment, medical supplies, and services to the Iraqi Health Ministry or the Iraqi Oil Ministry in order to obtain valuable contracts under the U.N. Oil for Food Program.”
As noted in the SEC release, “the SEC has now taken 15 FCPA enforcement actions against companies involved in the Oil for Food-related kickback schemes with Iraq, recovering more than $204 million.”
The GE enforcement action, like other Iraqi Oil for Food enforcement actions with a few exceptions, does not allege FCPA anti-bribery violations presumably because the alleged payments were made directly to the Iraqi government or government ministries – not to specific “foreign officials” as prohibited by the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions.
The GE enforcement action is also an outlier of sorts in that it is merely a SEC enforcement action with no parallel DOJ enforcement action – a fact mentioned in GE’s press release detailed below.
For instance, the March 2010 enforcement action against Innospec (which was part Iraqi Oil For Food) involved a DOJ criminal information as to those allegations (see here); the September 2009 enforcement action against AGCO Corporation involved a DOJ criminal information and deferred prosecution agreement (see here); and the May 2009 enforcement action against Novo Nordisk A/S involved a DOJ criminal information and deferred prosecution agreement (see here).
So much for substantively similar conduct being resolved in a similar fashion.
Without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations (detailed below), GE, GE Ionics Inc. and GE Healthcare Ltd. consented to a court order permanently enjoining future violations of the FCPA books and records and internal control provisions. GE agreed to pay $23.4 million to settle the matter – including approximately $18.4 million in disgorgement of profits on the alleged contracts at issue.
The SEC complaint (see here) alleges as follows:
“From approximately 2000 to 2003, two subsidiaries of the General Electric Company (“GE”) — Marquette-Hellige (“Marquette”) and OEC-Medical Systems (Europa) AG (“OEC-Medical”) — made approximately $2.04 million in kickback payments in the form of computer equipment, medical supplies, and services to the Iraqi Health Ministry under the Program. Prior to GE’s acquisition of their parent companies, two other current GE subsidiaries –Ionics Italba. S.r.L. (“Ionics Italba”), and Nycomed Imaging AS, currently GE Healthcare AS (”Nycomed”) – made approximately $1.55 million in cash kickback payments under the Program. Nycomed was a subsidiary of publicly-registered Amersham plc, which was acquired by GE after the conduct at issue in this Complaint and is currently known as GE Healthcare Ltd. Ionics Italba was a subsidiary of publicly-registered Ionics, Inc., which was acquired by GE after the conduct at issue in this Complaint and is currently known as GE Ionics, Inc.”
According to the complaint:
“Marquette, OEC-Medical, Ionics Italba, and Nycomed each authorized and paid kickbacks to Iraqi government ministries through agents in the form of ‘aftersales service fees’ (ASSF) on sales of products to Iraq. All four subsidiaries knew that such kickbacks were prohibited by the Oil for Food Program and U.S. and international trade sanctions on Iraq.”
According to the complaint, the above subsidaries, “only two of which were GE subsidiaries during the relevant time period,” “working through third-party agents, made ASSF kickback payments of approximately $3,584,842. The four subsidiaries earned profits of approximately $18,397,949 as a result oftheir illegal kickbacks.”
As to the acquired subsidiaries, the SEC simply alleges, without any elaboration, that GE acquired the liabilities of Amersham and Ionic, along with assets, in the acquisitions and that “GE Ionics, Inc. and GE Healthcare Ltd., both subsidiaries of GE, are the respective successors to the liability of Ionics and Amersham.”
Cheryl Scarboro, the Chief of the SEC’s newly formed FCPA Unit, stated as follows:
“GE failed to maintain adequate internal controls to detect and prevent these illicit payments by its two subsidiaries to win Oil for Food contracts, and it failed to properly record the true nature of the payments in its accounting records. Furthermore, corporate acquisitions do not provide GE immunity from FCPA enforcement of the other two subsidiaries involved.”
In a press release (see here) GE stated that the enforcement action “concludes the SEC’s investigation and related Department of Justice review of GE regarding the Oil-for-Food Program.” The release notes that the company “has received confirmation from the U.S. Department of Justice that the Department has closed its investigation and will take no action relating to these matters.”
As to the merits of the SEC’s allegations, the company stated as follows:
“In this case, the SEC has identified 18 contracts under the Oil-for-Food Program that it alleges were not accounted for or controlled properly. Fourteen of these transactions involve businesses that were not owned by GE at the time of the transactions. The SEC alleges that, in acquiring these companies, GE acquired their liabilities as well as their assets. The other four transactions relate to GE Healthcare units in Europe. These units declined to make cash payments to the Iraqi Ministry of Health, but they acquiesced when their agent offered instead to make in-kind payments of computer equipment, medical supplies, and services to the Iraqi Health Ministry, and then failed to reflect the transactions accurately in their books and records. This conduct did not meet our standards, and we believe that it is in the best interests of GE and its shareholders to resolve this matter now, without admitting or denying the allegations, and put the matter behind us.”
No matter how flimsy the SEC’s legal theory of liability, the agency continues to extract multi-million dollar FCPA settlements from the companies it oversees. These companies view settlement as easier and more cost efficient than engaging in a protracted legal dispute with a principal government regulator.
The end result, in such cases, is a continuation of the facade of FCPA enforcement.
More on Snamprogetti, ENI
Yesterday’s post (see here) provided a high-level overview of the joint DOJ / SEC FCPA enforcement action.
Today’s post provides a summary of the DOJ criminal information (here), deferred prosecution agreement (here), and SEC civil complaint (here).
For starters, the conduct at issue focuses on Snamprogetti Netherlands BV (“Snamprogetti”), a Dutch company headquartered in Amsterdam. Snamprogetti was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Snamprogetti, S.p.A., an Italian company, which in turn was a wholly-owned subsidiary of ENI, S.p.A., an Italian company headquartered in Rome that has been an issuer since 1995 and currently has common stock and American Depository Shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In February 2006, ENI sold Snamprogetti to Saipem, S.p.A., an Italian company. As indicated in this Saipem press release, even though Snamprogetti is a current subsidiary of Saipem, “in connection with the sale of Snamprogetti to Saipem, Eni agreed to indemnify Saipem for losses resulting” from the Bonny Island bribery investigation and accordingly neither the DOJ or SEC penalty “will impact Saipem’s consolidated income statement and balance sheet.” According to the SEC, “ENI owns 43% of, and exercises control over” Saipem.
With that out of the way, back to Snamprogetti.
Information
Not surprisingly, the Snamprogetti information largely mirrors the criminal informations previously filed last week against Technip (see here) and in February 2009 against the Kellogg Brown & Root (see here) – entities also part of the joint venture engaged in the Bonny Island bribery scheme.
The Snamprogetti information charges conspiracy to violate the FCPA and aiding and abetting violations of the FCPA’s antibribery provisions and alleges that Snamprogetti was part of a joint venture (“JV”) in Nigeria to design, build and expand LNG facilities on Bonny Island. According to the information, JV profits, revenues, and expenses were equally shared among the four JV partners. The JV’s Steering Committee consisted of high-level executives from each of the four companies and the Steering Committee made major decisions on behalf of the JV, including whether to hire agents to assist the JV in winning contracts, who to hire as agents, and how much to pay the agents.
The information charges that the JV operated through three Portuguese special purpose corporations, including a corporation (#3), 25% owned by Snamprogetti, specifically used to enter into consulting agreements with JV agents.
The criminal conduct charged centers on two agents hired by the JV.
The first agent, Jeffrey Tesler was a citizen of the United Kingdom who used a Gibraltar-based company as a vehicle to enter into agent contracts and receive payments from the JV. The information charges that the JV paid the company over $130 million to bribe high-ranking Nigerian government officials. According to the information, Tesler was an agent of the JV and each of the JV companies.
The second agent was a global trading company headquartered in Tokyo (the “Japanese Agent”), which was hired by the JV to help it obtain business in Nigeria, including by paying bribes to Nigerian officials. The information charges that the JV paid the consulting company over $50 million to bribe Nigerian government officials. According to the information, the Japanese Agent was an agent of the JV and each of the JV companies.
According to the information, between 1995 and 2004, the JV was awarded four contracts (collectively valued at over $6 billion) to build the Bonny Island Project and alleges that Snamprogetti, Technhip, Kellogg Brown & Root, Tesler, the Japanese Agent, and others, were engaged in a conspiracy to obtain and retain the contracts “through the promise and payment of tens of millions in bribes to officials of the Executive Branch of Nigeria, officials of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), officials of Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) and others.”
[According to the information, NNPC was a Nigerian government-owned company and an entity and instrumentality of the Government of Nigeria whose officers and employees were “foreign officials” under the FCPA. According to the information, NLNG was also an entity and instrumentality of the Government of Nigeria whose officers and employees were “foreign officials” under the FCPA, notwithstanding the fact that NLNG was 51% owned by multinational oil companies. Why? Presumably because, as the information alleges, “through the NLNG board members appointed by NNPC, among other means, the Nigerian government exercised control over NLNG, including but not limited to the abilty to block the award” of the relevant contracts.]
Among other means of the conspiracy, the information alleges that:
“officers, employees, and agents of Snamprogetti and their co-conspirators caused wire transfers totaling approximately $132 million to be sent from [#3’s] bank account in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, to bank accounts in New York, New York, to be further credited to bank accounts in Switzerland and Monaco controlled by Tesler for Tesler to use to bribe Nigerian government officials.”
“officers and employees of Snamprogetti and their co-conspirators caused wire transfers totaling over $50 million to be sent from [#3’s] bank account in Amsterdam, The Netherlands to [Japanese Agent’s] bank account in Japan for [the Japanese Agent to use to bribe Nigerian government officials.”
Based on the same core conduct, the information also charges Snamprogetti with aiding and abetting violations of the FCPA’s antibribery provisions and alleges that “Snamprogetti aided and abetted Kellogg, Brown and Root in causing […] corrupt U.S. dollar payments to be wire transferred from [#3’s] bank account in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, via correspondent bank accounts in New York, New York, to bank accounts of [Tesler’s Gibraltar based company] in Switzerland for use in part to bribe Nigerian government officials.”
DPA
The DPA has a term of two years. Parties to the DPA include Snamprogetti, Saipem and ENI.
Pursuant to the DPA, Snamprogetti admitted, accepted, and acknowledged that it is responsible for the acts of its employees, subsidiaries, and agents as detailed in the above criminal information.
According to the DPA, the DOJ agreed to enter into the agreement with the parties based on the following factors: “(a) Snamprogetti, Saipem, and ENI cooperated with the DOJ’s investigation of Snamprogetti and others; (b)Snamprogetti, Saipem, and ENI undertook remedial measures, including the implementation of an enhanced compliance program; and (c) Snamprogetti, Saipem, and ENI agreed to continue to cooperate with the DOJ in any ongoing investigation of the conduct of Snamprogetti and its present and former employees, agents, consultants, contractors, subcontractors, subsidiaries, and others relating to violations of the FCPA.”
According to the DPA, the fine range under the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines for Snamprogetti’s conduct is $300 million – $600 million. Snamprogetti agreed to pay a criminal penalty of $240 million or approximately 20% below the bottom of the fine range. Thus another example of the DOJ allowing a corporation to settle significant bribery allegations for an amount below even the bottom range of fines available under the advisory Sentencing Guidelines.
The DPA, unlike the recent Technip DPA, does require the engagement of a corporate compliance monitor.
Representing Snamprogetti, Saipem, and ENI in the FCPA enforcement action was Karen Patton Seymour (here) and Nicolas Bourtin (here) of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.
In the DOJ release (here) Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman stated: “the resolutions in this investigation demonstrate the U.S. government’s commitment to identifying and holding accountable all companies and individuals who scheme to bribe foreign government officials to win business;” “Snamprogetti and its joint-venture partners conspired to pursue lucrative contracts through a massive bribery scheme – a scheme that has led to more than $1.28 billion in criminal and civil penalties to date. The monetary penalties and enforcement actions that have resulted from this investigation should send a clear message to companies and their employees that using foreign bribery as a means of winning contracts abroad will be punished.” Kevin L. Perkins, assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division added: this “resolution is yet another example of the FBI’s willingness to aggressively investigate individuals and businesses that engage in corrupt conduct around the globe;” “those who elect to expand or protect their business interests through the payment of illegal bribes to foreign public officials should know that they are not beyond the reach of the FBI. Together, with our law enforcement partners around the world, we will identify these bad actors and work with the Justice Department to prosecute them under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other appropriate federal statutes.”
SEC Complaint
The SEC complaint “arises from multiple violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act” by ENI and its former indirect subsidiary Snamprogetti. According to the complaint: “between at least 1995 and 2004, senior executives at Snamprogetti, among others, devised and implemented a scheme to bribe Nigerian government officials to assist in obtaining multiple contracts worth over $6 billion to build liquefied natural gas production facilities on Bonny Island, Nigeria” that a four-company JV, of which Snamprogetti was a member, won the contracts to build.
Specifically, the SEC complaint alleges that “to conceal the illicit payments, Snamprogetti and others, through the JV, entered into sham ‘consulting’ or ‘services’ agreements” with Tesler and the Japanese Agent “who would then funnel their purportedly legitimate fees to Nigerian government officials.”
According to the SEC, “as a result of the scheme, numerous books and records of Snamprogetti and ENI contained false information relating to, among other things” Tesler and the Japanese Agent “and the payments made to them.” Specifically, the SEC alleged that “Snamprogetti’s business records […] contained the contracts with [Tesler] and the Japanese Agent, which falsely described the purpose of the contracts in order to make it appear that the agents would perform legitimate services.” According to the SEC, “these documents were part of Snamprogetti’s business records and supported Snampogetti’s financial statements, which were consolidated into ENI’s financial statements.”
The SEC alleges that “Snamprogetti did not conduct due diligence” on Tesler or the Japanese Agent and “ENI failed to ensure that Snamprogetti complied with ENI’s policies regarding the use of agents.” Specifically, the SEC alleged that “ENI’s policies and procedures governed Snamprogetti’s use of agents” but that “ENI failed to ensure that Snamprogetti conducted due diligence on agents hired through JV’s in which Snamprogetti participated.” “As a result,” the complaint alleged, “ENI’s internal controls failed to detect, deter or prevent the decades-long bribery scheme.”
Based on the above allegations, the SEC charged Snamprogetti, as “an agent of a U.S. issuer” with violating the FCPA’s antibribery provisions and knowingly falsifying books and records that supported the financial statements of ENI and knowingly circumventing ENI’s internal accounting controls. The SEC charged ENI with violating the FCPA’s books and records and internal control provisions. According to the SEC, “ENI exercised control and supervision of […] Snamprogetti during the relevant time and on certain of its business decisions, such as Snamprogetti’s entry into the JV.”
Without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations, Snamprogetti and ENI consented to court orders permanently enjoining the companies from future violations of the FCPA and court orders requiring the companies, jointly and severally, to pay $125 million in disgorgement.
In a press release (see here) with the grabbing line “SEC charges Italian Company and Dutch Subsidiary in Scheme Bribing Nigerian Officials With Carloads of Cash,” Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement stated: “this elaborate bribery scheme featured sham intermediaries, Swiss bank accounts, and carloads of cash as everyone involved made a concerted effort to cover their tracks” … “but the billion-plus dollars in sanctions paid by these companies show that ultimately there is no hiding or profiting from bribery.”
[As to the carload of cash, the SEC complaint alleges that the joint venture in which Snamprogetti participated in, paid Tesler (the UK agent) $40 million under a sham consulting agreement, and that Tesler then used a subcontractor to transfer $5 million to a Nigerian government official for the benefit of a Nigerian political party. According to the SEC complaint, “on several occassions, the Subcontractor personally delivered hand-delivered $1 million in U.S. currency in a brief case to the Nigerian official in a hotel room in Abuja, Nigeria.” The complaint alleges that the “Subcontractor delivered the remainder of the $5 million to the Nigerian official in local Nigerian currency,” but that because the currency “was too bulky to deliver by hand, the Subcontractor loaded the cash into vehicles, which were delivered to the Nigerian official.”
In a press release (see here) ENI stated, among other things, as follows:
“As the U.S. authorities’ court filings indicate, the criminal activity with which Snamprogetti Netherlands B.V. was charged ceased by June 15, 2004. Eni, Saipem, and Snamprogetti cooperated with the U.S. authorities’ investigations. In the agreements, the SEC and DOJ did not require the implementation of any independent compliance monitor. Since the conduct at issue, Eni, Saipem, and Snamprogetti Netherlands B.V. have made substantial enhancements to their anti-corruption compliance programs, which monitor Eni and its subsidiaries’ compliance systems. Eni and its subsidiaries are committed to continuous improvements to their internal compliance program and policies.”