(Updates with Technip statement)
Technip SA (TEC.FR, TKPPY) agreed to pay $338 million to settle
U.S. charges it bribed Nigerian officials to win
liquified-natural-gas contracts worth around $6 billion, the U.S.
Justice Department said Monday.
The settlement defers prosecution of the Paris-based engineering
company for two years, during which Technip agreed to be monitored
and cooperate in the department's investigation. At the end of that
term, the Justice Department will dismiss the criminal information
against the company if it abided by the agreement's terms.
The settlement amount includes $240 in criminal penalties and
$98 million in disgorgement of profits.
Technip Chairman and Chief Executive Thierry Pilenko said
Monday's agreement successfully completed a plan the company set
earlier this year to resolve the claims. In February, it estimated
a EUR245 million charge related to the case, worth about $336
million at the time.
The deal "puts this legacy story behind us and enables us to
focus on continuing to develop Technip's business," Pilenko said,
noting management is commited to enhancing its compliance
policies.
The contracts, which the department valued at more than $6
billion from 1995 through 2004, were for engineering, procurement
and constrution of LNG plants on Bonny Island, Nigeria. Technip was
part of a four-way joint venture, including KBR Inc. (KBR), seeking
the contracts. The state-run Nigerian Petroleum Corp. was the
largest shareholder of the firm awarding the contracts.
According to the charges, Technip hired two agents to pay bribes
on behalf of the joint venture in violation of the Foreign Criminal
Practices Act. Meeting with top executive officials, the two agents
worked to designate an intermediary through whom they could
negotiate and pay about $182 million in bribes.
The DOJ said so far it and the Securities and Exchange
Commission have collected $917 million in criminal and civil
penalties related to investigations into the Bonny Island
contracts.
Technip American Depositary Shares traded down 0.2% at $61.46 in
recent trading.
-By Joan E. Solsman, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2291;
joan.solsman@dowjones.com