THE United States Securities and Exchange Commission reached an agreement with the multinational honeywell in the amount of US$81 million to dismiss the bribery charges involving Algeria and Brazil.
Here in Brazil, the company was accused of offering US$ 4 million in bribes to a member of the government in 2010. Objective: to win contracts with Petrobras. The name of the person involved was not revealed.
The lawsuit is pending at the SEC. The agency released a statement this Monday (Dec.19, 2022) about the agreement. Here’s the full (68 KB).
For the US, Honeywell violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The company is a major manufacturer of aerospace, construction and automation products. The headquarter is in North Carolina (USA).
Here are the accusations:
- $4.1 million – the company would have offered the amount of bribes to “a senior Brazilian government official” with connection in a Petrobras bid, in 2010;
- $75,000 – the company would have paid the amount of bribes to an Algerian government official to obtain and retain business with Algeria’s state-owned energy company Sonatrach.
Charles Cainthe head of the SEC who followed the process, said Honeywell has created an easy environment for bribery. “For years, Honeywell neglected to implement sufficient internal accounting controls to mitigate known corruption risks in countries such as Brazil and Algeria.”
According to the US government, the minimum payment of the fine is approximately US$ 42.4 million.
In a parallel case, Honeywell also agreed to pay an additional $78 million to settle criminal charges filed by the US Department of Justice. Honeywell has also agreed to settle additional charges brought by the Brazilian government. The US government release does not detail what these charges were.
The Comptroller General of the Union, the Advocacy General of the Union and the Federal Public Ministry in Brazil participated in the negotiations. O Power360 asked the agencies the names of government members involved in the case, but did not receive a response until the publication of this report. The space remains open for manifestation.
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