Seatrium agrees to pay US$110 million to Singapore public prosecutor over corruption offences in Brazil

SINGAPORE: Seatrium has agreed to pay US$110 million as part of a deferred prosecution agreement over corruption offences in Brazil, Singapore's Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) said on Wednesday (Jul 30). 

This is a settlement where the prosecution agrees to defer criminal charges against a corporate offender in exchange for the corporation's agreement to comply with various conditions. 

The company also said in a filing on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) that it would pay Brazilian authorities about US$131 million over the offences.

Seatrium was formed in 2023 following the merger of Singapore's two main offshore and marine companies – Sembcorp Marine and Keppel Offshore & Marine (KOM).

SINGAPORE

AGC said the public prosecutor and Seatrium entered into the agreement on Wednesday. The public prosecutor will apply to the High Court for it to be approved.

The agreement will come into force only when the High Court approves it after determining that it is in the interests of justice and that its terms are fair, reasonable and proportionate, said AGC. 

Under the terms, Seatrium will be required to pay to the public prosecutor a financial penalty of US$110 million.

“Of this amount, up to US$53 million may be used to offset any fines or criminal penalties paid to the authorities in Brazil, arising from the same or substantially the same facts as those underlying the alleged offences,” said AGC.

Seatrium will also be required to review and make further improvements to its ethics and compliance programme to reduce the risk of a recurrence of any similar conduct.

If it fails to comply with the terms of the deferred prosecution agreement as approved by the High Court, the public prosecutor may apply to terminate the agreement.

In the event of a termination, the public prosecutor may initiate criminal proceedings against the company in respect of the alleged offences, AGC said. 

In June last year, Seatrium said that Singapore authorities were investigating offences potentially committed by the company that were linked to a corruption case in Brazil.

The investigation was in connection with Operation Car Wash, a long-running corruption case in Brazil.

Seatrium also announced on Wednesday that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the police's Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) have informed the company that they have concluded their joint investigations into potential offences.

These offences fall under the Securities and Futures Act 2001, the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act 1992, as well as previous versions of the Acts.

No action will be taken against the company or its officers, said Seatrium.

BRAZIL

Seatrium said in the SGX filing on Wednesday that it has signed a leniency agreement with the public prosecutor’s office in Brazil (MPF).

Seatrium also expects to sign an equivalent leniency agreement with the Brazilian Attorney-General’s Office (AGU) and the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU) "in the next few days". 

Under the terms of the leniency agreements with all three, the company will make a final settlement payment totalling R$728,933,258.58, or about US$131 million. 

The company said on Thursday that the agreement with the Brazilian AGU and CGU has been signed, with no change to the terms and conditions.

Seatrium called a trading halt at about 8.20am on Wednesday and lifted it about three hours later.

Operation Car Wash began in 2014 as a money-laundering probe into a car wash in Brazil's capital Brasilia. The operation has since expanded significantly into an extensive investigation into the country’s largest corruption scheme.

The probe revealed illicit kickbacks from corporate executives to influential politicians in exchange for contracts within the state-operated oil giant, Petrobras.

"As indicated in its previous announcements, the company has made provisions in its financial statements for the in-principle settlement payment and financial penalty," said Seatrium on Wednesday.

"Following the finalised agreements with the Brazilian and Singapore authorities, the company has reversed a provision of S$14 million in its financial statements for the financial period ended Jun 30, 2025, to take into account the finalised settlement payment and financial penalty, current exchange rates and other expenses."

It said there was "no material impact" on its net earnings and net tangible asset per share of the group for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2025.