Amec Foster Wheeler plc ("Amec") was a British multinational consultancy, engineering and project management company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Its shares were publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange and its American Depositary Shares were traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Amec was the successor-in-interest to Foster Wheeler AG.
In a 6-K filied on April 25, 2017, Amec disclosed that it had received voluntary requests for information from the SEC and DOJ in connection with the company's interactions with Unaoil and with the historical use of agents by Foster Wheeler, primarily in the Middle East. Amec provided the information that the SEC and DOJ sought as well as information relating to the historical use of third parties by Foster Wheeler and certain of its operations in other regions. Amec also disclosed the information to the UK Serious Fraud Office.
On July 11, 2017, the company disclosed that the SFO had begun an investigation into the third party agents and possible bribery in the Middle East.
On October 6, 2017, Amec was acquired by John Wood Group plc, a British company whose shares trade on the London Stock Exchange. Though John Wood Group is not an issuer for FCPA purposes, the company has continued to disclose the existence of the DOJ, SEC, and SFO investigations in its financial reports. Moreover, John Wood Group disclosed in its annual report released on March 20, 2018 that it had also initiated an internal investigation into "legacy Wood Group companies" possible connections with Unaoil. The company confirmed that a legacy Wood Group joint venture had engaged Unaoil and made payments to the company. John Wood Group informed U.K. and Scottish authorities of the findings of the investigation.
In its annual report released on March 10, 2020, John Wood Group disclosed that it had accrued $46 million in anticipation of a settlement with U.S., Brazilian, and Scottish authorities.
In its annual report released on March 16, 2021, John Wood Group disclosed that its settlement negotiations had progressed sufficiently that it had accrued an additional $150.7 million for a total of $196.7 million.
On June 25, 2021, both the DOJ and SEC commenced enforcement actions against Amec Foster Wheeler, and the John Wood Group disclosed that it had reached conclusions on all the pending investigations with the U.S., U.K., and Brazilian authorities.
