The SEC today charged Italian company ENI, S.p.A. and its former Dutch subsidiary Snamprogetti Netherlands B.V. with multiple violations of the FCPA in a bribery scheme that allegedly included deliveries of cash-filled briefcases and vehicles to Nigerian government officials to win construction contracts.
The SEC announced that Snamprogetti and ENI will jointly pay $125 million to settle the charges, and Snamprogetti will pay an additional $240 million penalty to settle separate criminal proceedings announced today by the Department of Justice. The case is related to the decade-long Nigerian bribery scheme conducted by a joint venture of companies that also included Technip and KBR, Inc., both named in previous SEC enforcement actions.
“This elaborate bribery scheme featured sham intermediaries, Swiss bank accounts, and carloads of cash as everyone involved made a concerted effort to cover their tracks,” said Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “But the billion-plus dollars in sanctions paid by these companies show that ultimately there is no hiding or profiting from bribery.”
