North Carolina Chemical Company to Pay $218M to Settle FCPA Violations
North Carolina-based specialty chemicals manufacturing company Albemarle Corp. agreed to pay over $218 million to settle DOJ and SEC investigations on alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, DOJ announced. The violations resulted from Albemarle's payment of bribes to government officials in Vietnam, Indonesia and India.
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According to the company's admissions as part of a non-prosecution agreement it signed, Albemarle conspired to pay bribes via its third-party sales agents and subsidiary employees from 2009 to 2017 to retain business with state-owned oil refineries, DOJ said. In return, the company saw profits of around $98.5 million.
Albemarle signed a three-year non-prosecution agreement and agreed to pay a $98.2 million penalty while forfeiting another $98.5 million. The penalty is $763,453 less than it would be otherwise due to bonuses the company withheld from qualifying employees. Albemarle will also pay around $103.6 million in "disgorgement and prejudgment interest" as part of its agreement with the SEC's investigation. Albemarle will continue working with DOJ in any future investigations pertaining to the conduct, will improve its compliance program and will provide reports to DOJ on the implementation of those compliance measures.