Keppel Offshore & Marine to pay 343.6m reais in settlement for Brazil corruption charges 

KEPPEL Corporation’s Offshore and Marine (O&M) unit has committed to pay a total of 343.6 million reais (S$88.1 million) in fines and damages to the Brazilian Federal Treasury and Petrobras, in relation to corrupt payments made by a former agent of Keppel O&M in Brazil.

This results from an additional leniency agreement reached with Brazilian authorities, after Keppel engaged in a separate negotiation process following the conclusion of its 2017 leniency agreement with the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Brazil (MPF).

The Brazilian authorities involved are the Attorney-General’s Office (AGU) and Comptroller General of the Union (CGU).

As part of the 2017 global resolution, the Attorney-General’s Chambers of Singapore (AGC) as well as the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) had previously agreed for Keppel O&M to pay a balance sum of US$52.8 million within three years from the date of CPIB’s conditional warning issued in 2017.

AGC and CPIB subsequently extended the credit period to Mar 23, 2023 in light of Keppel O&M’s then-ongoing discussions with CGU and AGU. They have also agreed, in principle, to allow Keppel O&M to seek crediting of up to about US$52.8 million in fines payable by Keppel O&M to the Brazilian authorities.

In a press statement Monday (Dec 19), Keppel said the additional leniency agreement concludes the group’s negotiations in Brazil related to Keppel O&M’s former agent in the country.

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It also resolves CGU’s administrative enforcement procedure against Keppel O&M and several of its other entities, which have been suspended since 2020 amid the ongoing discussions.

Together with the earlier leniency agreement with the MPF, Keppel O&M said it does not expect further grounds for liability in Brazil related to the corruption case as both leniency agreements provide for the payment of fines and damages in connection to the same matter.

Keppel O&M said it has also committed to continuing co-operation with AGU and CGU, and to ongoing compliance enhancements. The group “reiterates its zero tolerance of corruption and its ongoing commitment to ethical practices across its global operations”, it added.

The latest development is not expected to have a material impact on Keppel Corporation’s net tangible assets and earnings per share for the current financial year.

Shares of Keppel Corporation closed 0.3 per cent or S$0.02 lower at S$7.31 on Monday, before the announcement was made.