A commodities trader in Stamford, Connecticut, Freepoint Commodities LLC, has agreed to pay the federal government over $98 million to resolve a DOJ investigation into violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) stemming from their involvement in a scheme to pay bribes to Brazilian government officials, Josh LaBella reports for the Register Citizen.
The DOJ said the company is accused of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provision of the FCPA for its scheme, which was carried out in order to secure business with Brazil’s state-owned and state-controlled oil company, Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras. The DOJ said Freepoint and its co-conspirators paid bribes to Petrobras officials between 2012 and 2018, earning over $30 million in profits as a result. The DOJ said Freepoint has also agreed to repay more than $7.6 million to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in a related matter and agreed to continue cooperating with the department in any ongoing or future criminal investigation relating to this conduct. A senior oil trader at Freepoint, his brother, and one other company agent have also been criminally charged in connection with Freepoint’s bribery scheme.
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