Swiss justice sentences SBM Offshore for corruption
Three Swiss-based subsidiaries of SBM Offshore, which provides solutions for the offshore energy industry, have been ordered to pay CHF7 million ($7.5 million) for failing to prevent corruption payments.
The Swiss attorney general said the company had not taken the necessary measures to stop the payment of bribes to public officials in Angola, Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria between 2006 and 2012.
Proceedings against suspected bribery of officials in Brazil were partially abandoned, according to a statement by the attorney generalExternal link on Tuesday.
The financial penalty includes a fine of CHF4.2 million.
The three Swiss subsidiaries make up the financial operations centre of the Dutch SBM Offshore group.
The summary penalty shows the “willingness to prosecute and penalize companies engaging in cross-border corruption in Switzerland” the attorney general said.
The investigation revealed a system of corruption in a bid to secure contracts for the SBM Offshore group, totalling more than $22 million and close to €1 million, according to the Swiss justice authorities.
The decision is the latest stage in proceedings that led to the conviction of a former SBM executive last year and to settlements reached by the company in the Netherlands, the United States and Brazil over the past seven years.
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