Wood Group (John) PLC Wood reaches resolution on legacy investigations (2312D)
June 28 2021 - 2:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMWG.
RNS Number : 2312D
Wood Group (John) PLC
25 June 2021
25(th) June 2021
John Wood Group PLC ('Wood' or 'the Company')
LEI: 549300PLYY6I10B6S323
Wood reaches resolution on legacy investigations
Final settlement in line with disclosure made in FY20 results
announcement
-- Resolutions relate to historical conduct in the legacy
Foster Wheeler business
-- Under the terms of the agreements, Wood will pay a total
of $177 million over the next three years
-- The resolutions conclude the investigations into legacy
Amec Foster Wheeler companies conducted by authorities
in the UK, the US and Brazil
-- The SFO resolution, including financial terms, is subject
to final court approval
-- Terms and financial impact of the resolutions in line with
announcement made in March 2021, when Wood first disclosed
it was approaching a resolution on the legacy investigations
John Wood Group PLC ('Wood') today announces that agreements
have been reached with the Serious Fraud Office ('SFO') in the UK,
the Department of Justice ('DOJ') and Securities and Exchange
Commission ('SEC') in the US, and the Ministério Público Federal
('MPF'), the Comptroller General's Office ('CGU') and the Solicitor
General ('AGU') in Brazil, to resolve their respective bribery and
corruption investigations into the past use of third parties in the
legacy Amec Foster Wheeler business.
Under the terms of the agreements, the Company will pay
compensation, disgorgement and prejudgment interest, fines and
penalties totalling $177m. This will be phased over the next three
years with approximately $62m payable in H2 2021, and the balance
to be paid in instalments in 2022, 2023 and 2024. The amount and
payment plan are as disclosed and provided for in Wood's financial
statements for the year ending 31 December 2020, published in March
2021.
The resolutions relate to historical conduct which occurred
before Amec plc acquired Foster Wheeler AG in November 2014 and
prior to the combined firm's acquisition by Wood in October 2017.
Wood cooperated fully with all authorities in their investigations,
which is reflected in the cooperation credit that Wood received
from the authorities in their respective resolutions.
In relation to the UK, a three-year deferred prosecution
agreement ('DPA') relating to the use of third-party agents for
bribery and corruption in five countries by Foster Wheeler has been
agreed with the SFO and was the subject of a preliminary Crown
Court hearing today. Wood and the SFO will seek final judicial
approval of the DPA from the Court on 1(st) July 2021.
Wood has also entered into a three-year DPA with the DOJ, a
cease & desist order with the SEC, and leniency agreements with
a term of 18 months with the CGU, AGU and MPF, all in relation to
the historical use of third-party agents for bribery and corruption
in connection with winning a project in Brazil.
Assuming that final judicial approval is received in the UK, it
will officially conclude these investigations into the legacy Amec
Foster Wheeler business.
Wood continually reviews and enhances its compliance programme
to mitigate the risk of recurrence of similar conduct, and now
prohibits the use of sales agents or similar unless required by
law. In light of its remediation actions conducted to date and
compliance improvements, none of the resolutions require the
appointment of an independent compliance monitor but do include
certain ongoing compliance obligations to the SFO, DOJ, and
Brazilian authorities for the duration of the relevant
agreements.
Robin Watson, Chief Executive, Wood, said: "The investigations
brought to light unacceptable, albeit historical, behaviour that I
condemn in the strongest terms. Although we inherited these issues
through acquisition, we took full responsibility in addressing
them, as any responsible business would. Since our acquisition of
Amec Foster Wheeler, we have cooperated fully with the authorities
and have taken steps to further improve our ethics and compliance
programme from an already strong foundation. I'm pleased that,
subject to final court approval in the UK, we have been able to
resolve these issues and can now look to the future."
Roy Franklin, Chair, Wood, said: "The historical conduct that
led to these investigations does not reflect the values of Wood
that unite us as a global team. The resolutions underline why we
attach such importance to upholding the highest standards of ethics
and compliance in all parts of the world where we operate, and why
we continue to invest in strengthening our governance in this
area."
- Ends -
About Wood:
Wood is a global leader in engineering and consultancy across
energy and the built environment, helping to unlock solutions to
some of the world's most critical challenges. We provide
consulting, projects, and operations solutions in more than 60
countries, employing around 40,000 people. www.woodplc.com
For further information contact: press.office@woodplc.com
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