Oilfield company to pay US$253M to settle bribe case
WASHINGTON, USA
THE oilfield services company Weatherford International has agreed to pay more than US$250 million to settle federal charges that it bribed officials in the Middle East and Africa to win business.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said yesterday it charged the Swiss-based company with violating US law by offering foreign officials bribes, improper travel and entertainment to win contracts under the United Nations’ Oil-for-Food programme. Regulators say Weatherford falsified its records to hide these payments as well as other transactions in Cuba, Iran, Syria and countries subject to US sanctions.
Weatherford says it agreed to pay US$253 million to settle the charges and other claims against it by the US Department of Justice, the Department of Commerce and other federal agencies.
The pact is subject to court approval.
“This matter is now behind us. We move forward fully committed to a sustainable culture of compliance,” said Weatherford CEO Bernard Duroc-Danner, in a statement.
