Baker Hughes, a large oil services company, pleaded guilty yesterday to violating the foreign corrupt practices act by bribing foreign officials, an action that continued even after the company promised in 2001 to stop making such payments.
The criminal charges covered payments to win oil field contracts in Kazakhstan, but the company also settled civil charges filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission accusing it of making illegal payments in five other countries — Angola, Indonesia, Nigeria, Russia and Uzbekistan.
The company agreed to pay $44.1 million in penalties and forfeitures, which the government said was the largest penalty ever for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. It also agreed to appoint a monitor to assure that it complied with the law in the future.
See full Article.
Posts
