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They named the firms as Trafigura do Brasil Under the agreement, Vitol will pay the DOJ
Consultoria, Trafigura AG, Trafigura PTE, Tra- $135mn in criminal penalties to resolve the mat-
figura Group PTE, Trafigura Beheer BV and the ter. (Of the total amount, Brazilian authorities
Farringford Foundation. will receive $45mn.
The Trafigura case represents the first time a It must also pay the Commodity Futures
trading firm has been targeted in the Lava Jato Trading Commission (CFTC) more than
probe into improper payments to officials at $12.7mn, along with $16mn in fines, according
Petrobras. To date, all other lawsuits have only to the DOJ statement.
targeted individuals. In Brazil, prosecutors are The trading firm has expressed regret. “Vitol
only able to press charges against individuals, is committed to upholding the law and does
while companies can only receive administra- not tolerate corruption or illegal business prac-
tive sanctions including fines. tices. As recognised by the authorities, Vitol has
co-operated extensively throughout this pro-
Vitol Group cess,” CEO Russell Hardy said in a statement.
The corruption investigation has also pulled in According to the DOJ probe, Vitol and its
Swiss-based Vitol Group, another major global co-conspirators paid more than $8mn to at least
commodities trader. Last week, a US-based sub- four officials at Brazil’s state-run oil firm Petro-
sidiary of Vitol agreed to pay $164mn following bras between 2005 and 2014, as well as more
the US government’s probes of bribes that the than $2mn to officials in Ecuador and Mexico.
firm paid in Brazil and in other countries. Those findings led US prosecutors to charge
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a a former US employee of Vitol in September
recent statement that the bribes were designed to with bribery, conspiracy and money laundering
boost the Swiss firm’s oil trading business. “Vitol involving an $870,000 bribe to government offi-
paid bribes to government officials in Brazil, cials in Ecuador, designed to win $300mn worth
Ecuador and Mexico to win lucrative business of oil contracts.
contracts and obtain competitive advantages to This probe was also tied to the Lava Jato
which they were not fairly entitled,” said Seth investigation, which has been underway since
DuCharme, the acting US Attorney of the East- 2014. The investigation recently entered its 74th
ern District of New York. phase, with an inquiry into foreign exchange
Vitol, which is the world’s largest independ- transactions carried out by Petrobras around a
ent trader of crude oil, has admitted guilt under a decade ago. Federal police in Brazil issued 25
three-year deferred prosecution agreement, the search warrants as part of the new probe, and
news agency said. It has also agreed to improve Banco Paulista, a São Paulo-based financial
internal reporting and compliance functions. firm, is also being investigated. ™

The Trafigura case marks the first time a trading firm has been targeted in the Lava Jato probe (Photo: File)

Week 49 10•December•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P17