Energy Trader Vitol To Pay $163 Million To Resolve Bribery Charges

According to The Wall Street Journal, Swiss-based energy firm Vitol recently agreed to pay $163 million to settle charges that its employees paid bribes to gain an advantage when bidding for oil in Brazil, Mexico, and Ecuador.  The deal includes a deferred-prosecution agreement with the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), a $90 million fine to the DOJ, and an additional $45 million in a coordinated settlement with Brazilian authorities.  Vitol will also pay at least $28 million to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”).  The CFTC’s involvement in the Vitol case is novel for the agency, which usually regulates derivatives but announced last year that foreign corruption could violate the laws it enforces. 
 
The DOJ explained that Vitol, one of the largest energy traders in the world, paid more than $8 million in bribes to several officials at Brazil’s state-owned and controlled oil company, Petrobras.  The bribes were paid in exchange for confidential Petrobras pricing and competitor information.  According to the DOJ, Vitol also admitted to a conspiracy to bribe officials in Mexico and Ecuador to obtain and retain business in connection with the buying and selling of oil products.    
 
The WSJ reported that in addition to the bribery allegations, the CFTC claimed that Vitol employees also tried to manipulate two fuel-oil benchmarks in 2015, which “would have made Vitol’s trades in physical oil and oil futures more profitable[.]”  According to the WSJ, “Vitol neither admitted nor denied the CFTC claims related to market manipulation.”