UPDATE:Eni, Snamprogetti Settle Bribery Charges With US SEC, DOJ
July 07 2010 - 6:42PM
Dow Jones News
Italian oil-and-gas company Eni SpA (E, ENI.MI) and its former
Dutch unit Snamprogetti Netherlands BV will pay a total $365
million to settle charges by the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission and the U.S. Justice Department in an alleged bribery
scheme in which more than $180 million in bribes were funneled to
Nigerian government officials in an effort to obtain contracts to
build a liquefied-natural gas plant.
Eni and Snamprogetti consented to the settlement and court
orders to jointly pay $125 million to settle the charges.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department filed criminal charges against
Snamprogetti, which led to the company agreeing to pay $240 million
in criminal penalties to avoid prosecution.
The U.S. Justice Department said Wednesday it would drop charges
in two years if Snamprogetti, its current parent company Saipem SpA
(SPM.MI), and its former owner Eni, abide by agreed-upon terms.
Snamprogetti was part of a joint venture that received contracts
to build liquefied natural gas facilities in Nigeria.
"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," a Justice Department
Assistant Attorney General, Mythili Raman, said in a statement.
Since the allegations, the companies have made "substantial
enhancements" to their anti-corruption compliance programs,
according to a statement on Saipem SpA's website.
"Saipem SpA and its subsidiaries are committed to continuous
improvements to their internal compliance program and policies,"
the statement read.
The settlement brings the total paid to settle cases related to
the bribery scheme to more than $1.28 billion from a joint venture
of companies that also included Technip SA (TKPPY, TEC.FR), KBR
Inc. (KBR) and its former parent Halliburton Co. (HAL).
Last month, Technip SA agreed to pay $240 million to settle a
similar SEC complaint.
Eni and Snamprogetti join a growing list of foreign companies
hit with substantial fines for allegedly violating antibribery laws
in third-world countries.
-By Darrell A. Hughes and Tess Stynes, Dow Jones Newswires;
202-862-6684; darrell.hughes@dowjones.com
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