Justice Department’s Investigation into International Commodities Trading Companies’ Foreign Bribery Schemes Results in Six Corporate Resolutions and 20 Individuals Convicted

The Justice Department announced today that its long-running investigation into international commodities trading companies that paid bribes to win business with state-owned and state-controlled oil companies in Latin America and Africa has resulted in six corporate resolutions, 20 convictions of individuals, and total fines, forfeitures, and other penalties of more than $1.7 billion.

Since 2017, the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) Unit, in partnership with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country, the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, and the FBI, has been investigating corruption committed by international commodities trading companies, which paid millions of dollars in bribes to corrupt government officials to secure billions of dollars in business with state-owned enterprises.

Through this work, the Criminal Division has entered into six corporate resolutions, which have included mandatory cooperation, disclosure, and compliance obligations and resulted in total fines, forfeitures, and other penalties of more than $1.7 billion:

• In September 2020, Sargeant Marine Inc., an asphalt company based in Boca Raton, Florida, with an asphalt trading arm, pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of New York to schemes to bribe government officials in Brazil, Venezuela, and Ecuador;
• In December 2020, Vitol Inc., entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) in the Eastern District of New York, admitting to schemes to pay bribes to government officials in Brazil, Ecuador, and Mexico;
• In May 2022, Glencore International AG pleaded guilty in the Southern District of New York to a scheme to pay bribes to government officials in seven countries across Africa and Latin America;
• In December 2023, Freepoint Commodities LLC entered into a DPA in the District of Connecticut and admitted to a scheme to bribe government officials in Brazil;
• In March, Gunvor S.A. pleaded guilty in the Eastern District of New York to a scheme to bribe government officials in Ecuador; and
• Today, Trafigura Beheer B.V. pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Florida to a scheme to bribe government officials in Brazil.

These corporate resolutions are connected to the guilty pleas of 19 culpable individuals, including six government officials, eight corrupt intermediaries, and five trading company employees. In addition, last month, Javier Aguilar, a former trader at Vitol Inc., was convicted on FCPA and money laundering charges following a seven-week trial in the Eastern District of New York.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, thanked the Criminal Division’s partners in these matters, including U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York, U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery for the District of Connecticut, and U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Argentieri also thanked the Criminal Division’s law enforcement partners, including the FBI’s International Corruption Unit, New York Field Office, Miami Field Office, and Los Angeles Field Office.

The Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting FCPA matters. Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.