In the largest FCPA settlement against a US-based company, KBR and its former parent Halliburton agreed to pay $579 million in fines to settle charges that they violated Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) as part of a plan to secure large, long-term construction contracts in Nigeria.
According to the DOJ, KBR was part of a four-company joint venture that received the contracts. As part of its plea, KBR admitted to conspiring with those partners to promise and pay bribes. They also admitted to paying tens of millions of dollars in consulting fees to two agents for use in bribing government officials.
As part of its criminal plea deal, KBR agreed to retain an independent compliance monitor for a three-year period and continue to cooperate with the DOJ's continuing investigation of this matter.
In a related civil complaint by the SEC, Halliburton and KBR jointly agreed to pay $177 million in disgorgement. The SEC had charged KBR with violating the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. It also charged Halliburton and KBR with record-keeping and internal control violations.
"As part of the resolution of the SEC investigation, Halliburton will retain an independent consultant to perform a 60-day initial and, approximately one year later, a 30-day follow-up review and evaluation of Halliburton's anti- bribery and foreign agent internal controls and record-keeping policies and to adopt any necessary improvements," the company said.
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The application for continuous auditing and monitoring in helping organizations monitor internally for potential FCPA violations is particularly positive, because these compliance issues can be assessed concurrent with other operational challenges such as duplicate payment or overpayment.
In a related civil complaint by the SEC, Halliburton and KBR jointly agreed to pay $177 million in disgorgement. The SEC had charged KBR with violating the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. It also charged Halliburton and KBR with record-keeping and internal control violations.
"As part of the resolution of the SEC investigation, Halliburton will retain an independent consultant to perform a 60-day initial and, approximately one year later, a 30-day follow-up review and evaluation of Halliburton's anti- bribery and foreign agent internal controls and record-keeping policies and to adopt any necessary improvements," the company said.
----------------------------------
The application for continuous auditing and monitoring in helping organizations monitor internally for potential FCPA violations is particularly positive, because these compliance issues can be assessed concurrent with other operational challenges such as duplicate payment or overpayment.
Joe Oringel
Visual Risk IQ LLC
Charlotte NC, USA
Visual Risk IQ LLC
Charlotte NC, USA
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