SHI To Pay Fine Of $75,481,600 To Resolve Bribery Case
Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. (SHI) has reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for the settlement of investigation relating to the payment of commission. This was regarding the 2007 contract of the company in order to build a drill ship for a subsidiary of Pride International Inc. (Pride).
The contract was about Pride (now part of Valaris plc) getting a contract to charter the drillship to a subsidiary of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A (Petrobras).
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According to the findings of the investigation, the payment of a part of the commission was made to the officials of Petrobras in an improper way.
Taking into account the cooperation and a better compliance program of SHI, the DOJ has agreed to a three-year Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) with SHI. After this term comes to an end, the deferred charge related to a drill ship called DS-5 will be dismissed by the DOJ.
According to the DPA, SHI does not need to have a compliance monitor. However, it has to give the annual compliance program reports to the DOJ. A fine of $75, 481,600 will have to be paid by SHI. Half of this amount is to be paid to the US Government within 10 days. The other half has to be paid within the coming 12 months either to the Brazilian Government in case a separate resolution is reached with the Brazilian authorities or to the US Government if such a payment is not made to Brazil in the time period of 12 months.
“We deeply regret the company’s involvement in these events, which is contrary to our values and ethical standards,” CEO Joon Ou Nam said. “Many of the events described in our agreement happened more than a decade ago, and the individuals involved are no longer with the company. Over the past years, we have taken extensive steps, at our own initiative, to strengthen our anti-corruption compliance program to meet the highest standards of compliance and ethics.”
Reference: samsungshi
