Trafigura FCPA guilty plea over Petrobras bribery (2024)

The plea and the payments

DOJ announced on 28 March 2024 that Trafigura pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA ¹. The release states: "Pursuant to the plea agreement, Trafigura will pay a criminal fine of $80,488,040 and forfeiture of $46,510,257" ¹. DOJ said the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida is prosecuting the case ¹.

The department will credit up to US$26,829,346 of the criminal fine against amounts Trafigura pays to Brazilian law enforcement authorities for related conduct ¹. The release does not name the Brazilian authority or state a deadline for that payment ¹.

The plea agreement was entered on the docket on 29 March 2024 under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(c)(1)(C) ². It requires Trafigura to pay US$53,658,694 of the fine to the US Treasury within 10 business days after judgment ². If no part of the US$26,829,346 is paid to Brazilian authorities under an anticipated separate resolution within 12 months after the court accepts the agreement, Trafigura must pay the rest to the Treasury ². The agreement adds a US$400 special assessment ².

The charge and the admitted facts

The information was entered on the Southern District of Florida docket on 14 December 2023 ³. Its one count is titled "Conspiracy to Violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act" and cites 18 U.S.C. 371 and 15 U.S.C. 78dd-3 ³. It charges a conspiracy "From in or around 2003, and continuing through in or around 2014" ³.

In the plea agreement Trafigura admits and stipulates that the facts in the Information and the attached Statement of Facts are true, and agrees not to contradict them ². The Statement of Facts describes about US$19.7 million in corrupt commissions, used in part to bribe Petrobras officials ².

Conduct described by DOJ

DOJ said Trafigura bribed Petrobras officials from about 2003 to 2014 to obtain and retain business ¹. From 2009, DOJ said, the bribes ran up to 20 cents per barrel of oil products bought from or sold to Petrobras ¹. DOJ said the payments were concealed through shell companies and intermediaries using offshore accounts to deliver cash to Brazilian officials, and that co-conspirators met in Miami to discuss the scheme ¹.

The release quotes DOJ as stating that "Trafigura bribed Brazilian officials to illegally obtain business and reap over $61 million in profits" ¹. The Petrobras officials and co-conspirators are not named in the release ¹.

Cooperation, remediation and prior history

DOJ said Trafigura received credit for cooperating and for accepting responsibility ¹. It said Trafigura failed to preserve and produce some evidence on time early in the investigation, took positions inconsistent with full cooperation, and was slow to discipline some employees ¹. The fine reflects a 10% reduction off the fifth percentile of the Sentencing Guidelines fine range, reflecting cooperation, remediation and prior history ¹.

Remediation listed by DOJ includes risk-based anti-corruption policies for intermediaries, third-party payments and joint ventures, more compliance testing and training, and ending the use of third-party agents for business origination ¹.

DOJ listed two prior matters: a 2006 guilty plea by Trafigura AG for entering goods by false statements, and a 2010 conviction in the Netherlands for export and environmental law violations involving petroleum waste in Côte d'Ivoire ¹.

Foreign authorities and status

DOJ said authorities in Brazil, Switzerland and Uruguay assisted, along with DOJ's Office of International Affairs ¹.

The plea agreement sets a three-year term from the date the court accepts the plea, which prosecutors can extend by up to one year ². It says an independent compliance monitor was not necessary ². Trafigura must report each year on compliance remediation, with a first report and at least two follow-up reports ². The agreement gives no sentencing date ².

This page has not confirmed the date or result of the US sentencing hearing, or the form and amount of any Brazilian resolution, from a primary source. Readers can check the Southern District of Florida docket for later filings ³.