Dutch company Frank’s Internacional must pay the US Treasury $7.9 million (7.26 million euros) for participating in bribes in Angola between 2008 and 2014, according to an order from the US market regulator.
According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) notice, which Lusa had access to, the company, a supplier of materials and services to the oil industry, “will be required to pay $4,176,858 in repayment and $821,863 in default interest. and a $3,000,000 civil fine to the Securities and Exchange Commission for transfer to the General Fund of the U.S. Treasury,” totaling nearly $7.3 million.
These are bribery schemes that the company, with securities listed on the New York Stock Exchange, resorted to because it could not win contracts in Angola in any other way.
According to the document establishing the sanction against Frank’s, dated April 26 this year, the SEC explains that the company was informed by Angolans that it should create a consulting firm through which to channel the bribes that would allow it to win contracts in the Angolan market . .
“Between January 2008 and October 2014, Frank’s paid approximately commissions to a sales agent in Angola, even taking into account that those responsible for Frank’s regionally based subsidiary knew there was a high probability that the agent would use to bribe Angolan government officials on Frank’s behalf”adds the SEC order.
“In fact, some of the money was channeled to an Angolan government official to influence the award of oil and natural gas service contracts,” the document underlines, adding that during the relevant period, Frank’s had “no internal accounting controls related to conservation and the payment of agents who interacted with foreign government officials on behalf of the company”.
Following the IPO (distribution of capital on the Frank’s Internacional stock exchange, which took place in August 2013), the agent in Angola funneled the funds it received from Frank’s Angola Operations into offshore accounts of companies whose ultimate ownership was not identifiable. During this period, after becoming an issuer, Frank’s Angolan Operations secured five new contracts in Angola,” the document adds.
At that time, the Angolan state oil company Sonangol granted concessions to major international oil companies and granted oil exploration and production rights in onshore and offshore areas known as blocks.
Until 2012, the president of the oil company was Manuel Vicente, who later became vice president of Angola, with the historic José Eduardo dos Santos as president.
In its presentation of the case, the SEC says that despite being hired by some of the major international oil companies that received the concessions, Frank’s Angola Operations was passed over because the companies did not want to hire “suppliers disadvantaged by Sonangol.” , reads as in the document.
So the solution the company found was to hire an Angolan agent to channel the money that would guarantee that the company would receive new prices.
Between 2008 and 2014, “Angolan agencies” received about 5.5 million [cerca de cinco milhões de euros] of Frank’s Angolan operations, part of which was paid to a responsible person in Angola,” the document adds.
But Frank received “at least $4,176,858 [3,7 milhões de euros]in post-IPO net profits from its contracts with oil companies where Sonangol was the ultimate customer and for which an Angolan official or other Sonangol officials had decision-making authority”.
In an agreement prior to the SEC’s final decision, based on a proposal from Frank’s, the company pledged to cooperate, including by making non-U.S. witnesses available for interviews, voluntarily submitting relevant documents and sharing facts discovered during his internal investigation. including facts. with respect to conduct that occurred prior to becoming an issuer.
Corrective actions included firing the affected employees, ending the relationship with the Angola agent, improving internal accounting controls and strengthening the internal control environment and compliance program after the merger with the Expro Group, resulting in Expro Group Holdings.
“Defendant shall pay to the Securities and Exchange Commission a refund of $4,176,858 and default interest of $821,863 and a civil fine of $3,000,000 to the Securities and Exchange Commission within 14 days of the date of entry of this Order for transfer to the general fund of the United States Treasury pursuant to section 21F(g)(3) of the Exchange Act,” the document concludes.
Source: DN
