In September 2023, Albemarle Corp. (a North Carolina based chemical company) resolved a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action.
According to the DOJ: “[B]etween in or around 2009 and 2017, Albemarle, through its third-party sales agents and subsidiary employees, engaged in a conspiracy to pay bribes to government officials to obtain and retain catalyst business with state-owned oil refineries in three countries—Vietnam, Indonesia, and India …”.
The resolution included a DOJ non-prosecution agreement (pursuant to which the company agreed to pay a $98.2 million criminal penalty and $16.6 million in forfeiture) and an SEC administrative order (pursuant to which the company agreed to pay approximately $103.6 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest).
The NPA had a three year term, but specifically stated that “in the event the [DOJ] finds, in their sole discretion, that there exists a change in circumstances sufficient to eliminate the need for the reporting requirement in [the NPA] and that the other provisions of this Agreement have been satisfied, the Agreement may be terminated early.”
Albemarle recently disclosed:
“In April 2025, the Company concluded its non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) prior to the end of its term in recognition that the terms of the agreement had been satisfied. The non-prosecution agreement was implemented in September 2023 following the Company’s self-reporting of a matter that occurred in 2018.”
