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Norway's Statoil to pay US fines of 21 million dollars in Iran probe
AFP
WASHINGTON
Petroleumworld.com 10 15 06
Norway's state-controlled oil giant Statoil agreed Friday to pay US fines of 21 million dollars to settle a probe into bribing an Iranian official, authorities said.
The company settled probes by the US Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates US-traded companies, into violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
"Although Statoil is a foreign issuer, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act applies to foreign and domestic public companies alike, where the company's stock trades on American exchanges," said Assistant US Attorney General Alice Fisher.
"This prosecution demonstrates the Justice Department's commitment vigorously to enforce the FCPA against all international businesses whose conduct falls within its scope."
A Justice Department statement said Statoil "has acknowledged making bribe payments to an Iranian official in order to secure valuable oil and gas rights in Iran," and would pay 10.5 million dollars to settle a criminal probe.
The deal calls for a three-year "deferred prosecution agreement" in which charges would be dropped if there are no further violations.
"The Department's willingness to resolve this particular investigation by a deferred prosecution agreement is in large part due to the exceptional assistance Statoil provided to US authorities in connection with the investigation, the significant remedial efforts undertaken by the company, and the fact that the Norwegian authorities also investigated and sanctioned Statoil," Fisher said.
Statoil, which is 70.9 percent owned by the Norwegian government, also agreed to pay an identical 10.5 million dollars to settle an SEC probe that could have resulted in civil charges.
"The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act makes it unlawful for public companies to pay bribes to a foreign government official," said Mark Schonfeld, director of the SEC's northeast regional office.
"The Commission is charged with enforcing this anti-corruption law against public companies in order to maintain a level playing field and encourage fair play and competition."
According to the criminal information filed today in New York federal court, in 2001 and 2002, Statoil paid some 15 million dollars in a "consulting contract" to an Iranian official considering contracts for the development of the South Pars field, one of the largest natural gas fields in the world.
In a statement issued in Norway, Statoil acknowledged the violations by former management through an intermediary of Horton Investments, a consulting group.
The company said the fine would be slightly lower than in the agreement because it would be able to deduct a three-million-dollar fine previously paid to the Norwegian authorities.
"The agreements with the US agencies resolve all outstanding issues under US law related to the Horton matter, which occurred several years ago under the company's previous management and which the company has long deplored," Statoil chairman Jannik Lindbaek said.
"We believe that the settlement is in the best interest of Statoil. It enables us to avoid a prolonged legal process that would further burden our organization, as we continue to strengthen our ethical and compliance policies and to focus sharply on our strategies for growth."
AFP 13 1549 GMT 10 06
Copyright ©2006 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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