Keppel Offshore & Marine to pay S$88 million in resolution with Brazilian authorities for corruption case
With the earlier agreement in 2017 and this additional deal, Keppel said it does not expect further grounds for liability in Brazil for this case.
Keppel Offshore & Marine's Brazil operations. (Photo: Keppel O&M website)
SINGAPORE: Keppel Offshore & Marine has agreed to pay Brazilian authorities S$88 million in fines and damages, in a joint resolution on a 2017 corruption case.
The offshore rig builder has also committed to continuing cooperation with Brazilian authorities, and to ongoing compliance enhancements.
The payment of 343,571,455.25 Brazilian reals (US$65 million) is on top of a global resolution reached in December 2017 with authorities in Singapore, Brazil and the United States.
The offshore and marine arm of Keppel Corporation, was then fined US$422 million for its part in an international corruption scandal that took place between 2001 and 2014, with bribes amounting up to US$55 million.
This was after corrupt payments made by Keppel O&M’s former agent in Brazil to secure contracts with Brazilian oil giant Petrobras were brought to light.
In Brazil, the Brazilian Attorney-General’s Office and Comptroller General of the Union have a parallel mandate with the Brazilian criminal authorities to enforce certain anti-corruption laws, and Keppel engaged in a separate negotiation process with the two agencies.
This additional leniency agreement concludes the negotiations with the authorities in Brazil relating to KOM’s former agent in Brazil, Keppel O&M said in a press release on Monday (Dec 19).
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As part of the 2017 global resolution, Keppel O&M agreed to pay a balance sum of nearly US$52.8 million within three years from the date of a conditional warning from the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) in December 2017.
AGC and CPIB had subsequently extended the credit period to Mar 23, 2023 due to Keppel O&M’s discussions with the Brazilian Attorney-General’s Office and Comptroller General of the Union.
The Attorney-General's Chambers and CPIB have agreed in principle to allow Keppel O&M to seek crediting of up to US$52,777,122.50 in fines payable to the Brazilian authorities.
With the earlier agreement and this additional deal, Keppel said it does not expect further grounds for liability in Brazil for this case.
The company also reiterated "its zero tolerance of corruption and its ongoing commitment to ethical practices across its global operations".
The latest development is not expected to have a material impact on Keppel’s net tangible assets and earnings per share for the current financial year.
