Halliburton to Pay $29.2 Million to Settle U.S. Charges Tied to Angola
Sarah N. Lynch
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Oil company Halliburton Co will pay $29.2 million to settle civil charges it violated federal anti-bribery rules related to books, record-keeping and internal accounting controls while doing business in Angola, U.S. regulators said on Thursday.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said Halliburton's former vice president, Jeannot Lorenz, separately agreed to pay a $75,000 penalty in connection with the alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Both the company and Lorenz are settling the case without admitting or denying the allegations.
In a statement, Halliburton said the Justice Department had also investigated the matter and was planning to close it out without filing related criminal charges.
The probe began after the company received an anonymous allegation about possible FCPA violations in December 2010. The company said it "promptly" reported the tip about possible corruption to the Justice Department, conducted its own internal investigation and cooperated with the government.
A lawyer for Lorenz could not immediately be reached for comment.
The SEC said the alleged FCPA violations stemmed from contracts that Halliburton entered into with a local Angolan company in order to satisfy certain "local content regulations" for foreign firms doing business in the country.
Some of those payments, the SEC said, "were made in advance of Halliburton obtaining lucrative oilfield service contracts."
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Oil company Halliburton Co will pay $29.2 million to settle civil charges it violated federal anti-bribery rules related to books, record-keeping and internal accounting controls while doing business in Angola, U.S. regulators said on Thursday.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said Halliburton's former vice president, Jeannot Lorenz, separately agreed to pay a $75,000 penalty in connection with the alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Both the company and Lorenz are settling the case without admitting or denying the allegations.
In a statement, Halliburton said the Justice Department had also investigated the matter and was planning to close it out without filing related criminal charges.
The probe began after the company received an anonymous allegation about possible FCPA violations in December 2010. The company said it "promptly" reported the tip about possible corruption to the Justice Department, conducted its own internal investigation and cooperated with the government.
A lawyer for Lorenz could not immediately be reached for comment.
The SEC said the alleged FCPA violations stemmed from contracts that Halliburton entered into with a local Angolan company in order to satisfy certain "local content regulations" for foreign firms doing business in the country.
Some of those payments, the SEC said, "were made in advance of Halliburton obtaining lucrative oilfield service contracts."
No comments:
Post a Comment