Corruption, Crime and Compliance: Dive into the Trafigura FCPA Agreement | Thomas Fox – Compliance Evangelist

Following the $661 million Gunvor FCPA settlement, the DOJ announced its settlement with Trafigura, the latest commodities trading firm to fall under the DOJ's FCPA sweep of the industry. Trafigura joins the list of international commodities trading companies suffering from FCPA enforcement actions, including Vitol, Sergeant Marine, Glencore, Freepoint and Gunvor.

The DOJ's corporate resolutions are tied to individual prosecutions and bonds See more +

Following the $661 million Gunvor FCPA settlement, the DOJ announced its settlement with Trafigura, the latest commodities trading firm to fall under the DOJ's FCPA sweep of the industry. Trafigura joins the list of international commodities trading companies suffering from FCPA enforcement actions, including Vitol, Sergeant Marine, Glencore, Freepoint and Gunvor.

The DOJ's corporate resolutions involve individual prosecutions and guilty pleas of 19 individuals, including six government officials, eight corrupt intermediaries and five commercial companies.

Trafigura Beheer BV (“Trafigura”), based in Switzerland, pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $126 million as part of a settlement agreement to resolve FCPA violations in Brazil. Trafigura pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the anti-corruption provisions of the FCPA and agreed to pay a fine of over $80 million and forfeiture of $46 million. The DOJ agreed to apply up to $26 million of the fine toward amounts Trafigura pays to resolve an ongoing investigation in Brazil.

• Trafigura, a global commodities trading company, pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $126 million to resolve FCPA violations in Brazil. This was a corrupt scheme to pay bribes to Brazilian officials to secure business with Petrobras.

• The DOJ noted Trafigura's cooperation and accountability, including providing timely updates, facilitating employee interviews and producing relevant documents, but criticized its failure to preserve and produce certain evidence in a timely manner.

• Trafigura's bribery scheme involved paying bribes to Petrobras officials from 2003 to 2014 to win and retain contracts, with payments ranging from 5 to 20 cents per barrel in oil transactions.

• The bribe payments were facilitated through offshore bank accounts, U.S. banks and encrypted language in emails, with Trafigura companies reaping approximately $51 million in profits from the scheme.

• The DOJ's successful search of the commodities trading industry resulted in six corporate resolutions and 20 individual convictions with a total fine of over $1.7 billion, underscoring the importance of robust compliance and oversight strategies.

• Trafigura's lack of compliance oversight and failure to maintain proper third-party due diligence or risk management programs allowed the bribery scheme to operate with impunity, highlighting the need for increased controls and monitoring in high-risk industries.

• Despite the challenges faced in the investigation, Trafigura's guilty plea and cooperation with the DOJ demonstrate its commitment to combating corruption and compliance issues in the global commodities trading sector. Show less –