ABB avoids DOJ monitor, to pay $327M over South African bribes
By 
Aaron Nicodemus2022-12-05T16:19:00
Swiss technology company ABB agreed to pay $327 million in penalties to settle coordinated charges it paid bribes to win South African energy contracts.
The settlement, announced late Friday by the U.S. Department of Justice, saw ABB admit to a scheme from 2014-17 to pay bribes to a South African energy official. The scheme involved ABB making payments to subcontractors connected to the high-ranking official at the energy company Eskom Holdings. In return, ABB received “improper advantages” in its efforts to obtain work with Eskom, including access to confidential and internal Eskom documents.
ABB and Eskom then conducted “sham negotiations” that resulted in inflated contracts being awarded to ABB.
Related articles
-
News BriefInterpol to launch AML pilot program in Africa by 2025
The International Police Organization will launch a pilot anti-money laundering initiative in Africa that will trace and recover funds stolen by corrupt officials and criminals.
-
PremiumLessons from Albemarle, ABB: How data-driven compliance can help your firm
Andrew McBride, chief risk officer of Albemarle Corp., and Tapan Debnath, head of integrity, regulatory affairs and data privacy at ABB, discussed how and why their respective organizations use data analytics to conduct business as part of a recent webcast.
-
News BriefSAP to pay $220M in FCPA settlements
German-based software company SAP agreed to pay more than $220 million as part of resolutions with authorities in the United States and South Africa regarding alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
More from Regulatory Enforcement
-
News BriefCFPB scraps bad-actor registry, citing cost-benefit issues
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau shut down a registry of non-bank financial firms that broke consumer laws. The agency cites the costs being ”not justified by the speculative and unquantified benefits to consumers.”
-
ArticleSenate Democrats question Vought on comments about closing CFPB in months
Senate Democrats warned OMB Director Russell Vought Tuesday that it would be illegal for the Trump administration to shut down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, citing a recent court decision barring actions that could severely harm the agency.
-
PremiumAssessing the impact of the DOJ’s monitorship policy six months in
It has been nearly six months now since the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Criminal Division released its memorandum on the selection of compliance monitors. This article provides a critical analysis of the monitorships that received early terminations, those that remain in place, and the broader compliance lessons they impart.