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Enforcement Action Dataset

 

Initiation Date:    06/25/2019  Information

Prosecuting Agency:    U.S. Department of Justice

Type of Action:    DOJ Criminal Proceeding

Docket or Case Number:    19-cr-00277

Court:    E.D. New York

Name of Prosecuting Attorneys:   

  • Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney
  • Robert A. Zink, Acting Chief, Fraud Section, Criminal Division
  • Alixandra Smith, Assistant United States Attorney
  • Patrick T. Hein, Assistant United States Attorney
  • Dennis R. Kihm, Trial Attorney, Fraud Section, Criminal Division
  • Derek J. Ettinger, Trial Attorney, Fraud Section, Criminal Division
  • Gerald M. Moody, Jr., Trial Attorney, Fraud Section, Criminal Division

US Assisting Agencies:   

  • Federal Bureau of Investigation

Foreign Enforcement Action/Investigation:    Unknown

Foreign Assistance:   

  • French Law Enforcement Agency (FR)
  • Swiss Law Enforcement Agency (CH)
  • U.K. Law Enforcement Agency (GB)
  • Brazilian Law Enforcement Agency (BR)
  • Italian Law Enforcement Agency (IT)
  • Australian Law Enforcement Agency (AU)
  • Monaco Law Enforcement Agency (MC)

Origin of the Proceeding:    Unknown

Whistleblower:    Unknown

Case Status:    Resolved


Summary  Information

Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd. ("KOM") was a Singaporean corporation that operated shipyards in Asia, North and South America, and Europe. The company primarily built mobile offshore drilling rigs and handled repairs, conversions, and upgrades of shipping vessels. Though not mentioned in the court documents, KOM was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Corporation, a Singapore corporation publicly traded on the Singaporean stock exchange. KOM operated through subsidiaries in various countries including Brazil and the United States.

TechnipFMC plc ("TechnipFMC") was a global provider of oil and gas technology and services. TechnipFMC was the product of a 2017 merger between Technip S.A. ("Technip") and FMC Technologies, Inc. ("FMC Technologies"). Prior to the merger, Technip was a global oil and gas technology and services company that was headquartered in France and operated through a variety of foreign subsidiaries, including a wholly-owned American subsidiary.

Zwi Skornicki was a Brazilian citizen who worked as an agent and consultant of KOM's subsidiaries from 2000 to 2016 and of Technip from 2003 to 2013.

According to the documents in this case, between 2001 and 2014, Skornicki engaged in a conspiracy with others, including executives of KOM and Technip, to pay approximately $55 million in bribes to officials of Brazil's state-owned oil company, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. ("Petrobras"), and the Workers' Party of Brazil in connection with at least 13 projects in Brazil. The bribes were paid in order to secure the projects for KOM's subsidiaries, Technip, and a joint venture the two companies formed together in 2003. In all, KOM and Technip earned profits totaling more than $500 million from business in Brazil obtained through the bribery scheme.

On June 25, 2019, the DOJ filed a single count Information in the Eastern District of New York against Skornicki alleging conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA. On the same date, the DOJ announced that Skornicki had entered into a plea agreement with the agency. Though the details of the plea agreement remained under seal, on August 4, 2020, the court sentenced Skornicki to a term of probation of 18 months, which he could serve in Brazil where he lived, and ordered him to pay a fine of $50,000 plus a mandatory assessment of $100.

In related proceedings, KOM and its American subsidiary settled actions with the DOJ on December 22, 2017, and Technip FMC settled with the DOJ on June 25, 2019 and with the SEC on September 23, 2019. Under the terms of the settlements, KOM agreed to pay over $100 million in sanctions, and TechnipFMC agreed to pay more than $85 million in sactions.

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