Vitol Inc., based in Houston, Texas, was beneficially owned by a Dutch company named Vitol Holding BV but directly owned and controlled by the Swiss company Vitol S.A. between 2004 and 2009. The Vitol companies, together with their affiliates formed one of the largest oil distributors and energy commodities traders in the world. Vitol and Vitol S.A. capitalized and oversaw certain operations of Vitol’s Rio de Janeiro-based affiliate, Vitol do Brasil (“Vitol Brazil”).
According to the documents in this case, between 2005 and 2014, Vitol and its co-conspirators paid bribes of more than $8 million to several officials at Brazil’s state-owned and controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras. Vitol paid these bribes in exchange for receiving confidential Petrobras pricing and competitor information and to win fuel oil contracts with Petrobras. Vitol concealed the scheme through the use of intermediaries and a fictitious company that facilitated the payments to offshore accounts and, ultimately, to the Petrobras officials. In all, Vitol and its affiliated companies earned at least $33 million in profits from the Petrobras scheme.
Additionally, between 2015 and 2020, Vitol conspired to pay more than $2 million in bribes to officials at Ecuador and Mexico's state-owned oil companies, Empresa Publica de Hidrocarburos del Ecuador (“Petroecuador”) and Petroleos Mexicanos (“PEMEX”), respectively, in order to obtain and retain business in connection with the purchase and sale of oil products.
On December 3, 2020, the DOJ filed a two-count Information in the Eastern District of New York against Vitol alleging conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA. On the same date, Vitol and Vitol S.A. entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ. Under the terms of the settlement, Vitol agreed to pay a fine of $135 million, which represented a 25% departure below the bottom of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines range. One third of the fine ($45 million) was paid to Brazilian authorities. Vitol also agreed to self-report on the status of the company's enhanced anti-corruption compliance policies and procedures for three years. The DOJ noted Vitol's cooperation in the investigation as well as the company's remedial measures, but the company received no credit for voluntarily self-reporting the matter to the DOJ. The DOJ also noted that Vitol had entered a resolution with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission relating to the conduct described in this enforcement action as well as other conduct. Vitol agreed to pay $12,791,000 in disgorgement relating to the conduct described in this enforcement action and a $16,000,000 penalty for unrelated trading activity.
The DOJ also filed related proceedings against Javier Aguilar, a Vitol trader, and Rodrigo Garcia Berkowitz, a Petrobras official. One of the intermediaries, Luiz Eduardo Andrade, was also previously charged in connection with a separate FCPA matter.
