Head of South Korea’s Samsung Group, Jay Y. Lee, was sentenced to five years in jail for bribery, hiding assets abroad, embezzlement, concealing criminal proceeds and perjury. Lee was convicted over payments of 43bn won ($36.4m; £30.3m) made to South Korean’s former president’s confidante’s foundations, as well as for giving a horse and several million dollars to assist the equestrian career of her daughter, in anticipation of favours and government support over Samsung’s major merger restructuring.
Noble charged on paying approximately $74,000 to a Nigerian freight forwarding agent, acknowledged that certain employees knew that some of the payments would be passed on as bribes to Nigerian customs officials, and admitted that the company falsely recorded the bribe payments as legitimate business expenses in its corporate books, records and accounts. Criminal penalty – $2.59 million.
Pride paid a total of approximately $800,000 in bribes directly and indirectly to government officials in Venezuela, India and Mexico. The bribes were paid to extend drilling contracts for three rigs operating offshore in Venezuela; to secure a favorable administrative judicial decision relating to a customs dispute for a rig imported into India; and to avoid the payment of customs duties and penalties relating to a rig and equipment operating in Mexico. Criminal penalty – $32.625 million.
Tidewater Marine charged with paying approximately $160,000 in bribes paid through its employees and agents to tax inspectors in Azerbaijan to improperly secure favorable tax assessments, and paying approximately $1.6 million in bribes through Panalpina to Nigerian customs officials to induce the officials to disregard Nigerian customs regulations relating to the importation of vessels into Nigerian waters. Criminal penalty – $7.35 million.
Transocean charged with paying approximately $90,000 in bribes to Nigerian customs officials to circumvent Nigerian customs regulations. Criminal penalty – $13.44 million.
Shell subsidiary (SNEPCO) charged on paying approximately $2 million to its subcontractors with the knowledge that some or all of the money would be paid as bribes to Nigerian customs officials by a freight forwarding company to import materials and equipment into Nigeria. Criminal penalty – $30 million.
Panalpina pleads guilty on engaging in a scheme to pay bribes to numerous foreign officials on behalf of many of its customers in the oil and gas industry between 2002 and 2007. It paid thousands of bribes totaling at least $27 million to foreign officials in at least seven countries, including Angola, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Russia and Turkmenistan. Criminal penalty – $70.56 million.
Two year investigation found incidents of overwhelming corruption including: extortion, accepting bribes, retaliatory audits, transportation requests, food services requests in 10 out of 19 audits conducted by BV.
Chinese government worked to suppress news story that exposed poor working conditions in Foxconn’s iPod factory.
Allegations of criminal acceptance of bribes by Intertek auditor in exchange for overlooking fraud at the Hang Fat toy factory’s salary and working hours records. The auditor asked the factory to pay a bribe in order to allow the factory pass the audit. The factory paid the required bribe.
