Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL) will pay $29.2 million to settle civil charges it violated federal anti-bribery rules related to books, record-keeping and internal accounting controls while doing business in Angola, U.S. regulators said July 27.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Halliburton's former vice president, Jeannot Lorenz, separately agreed to pay a $75,000 penalty in connection with the alleged violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
Both the company and Lorenz are settling the case without admitting or denying the allegations.
In a statement, Halliburton said the Justice Department had also investigated the matter and was planning to close it out without filing related criminal charges.
The probe began after the company received an anonymous allegation about possible FCPA violations in December 2010. The company said it "promptly" reported the tip about possible corruption to the Justice Department, conducted its own internal investigation and cooperated with the government.
A lawyer for Lorenz could not immediately be reached for comment.
The SEC said the alleged FCPA violations stemmed from contracts that Halliburton entered into with a local Angolan company in order to satisfy certain "local content regulations" for foreign firms doing business in the country.
Some of those payments, the SEC said, "were made in advance of Halliburton obtaining lucrative oilfield service contracts."
Recommended Reading
EQT Sees Clear Path to $5B in Potential Divestments
2024-04-24 - EQT Corp. executives said that an April deal with Equinor has been a catalyst for talks with potential buyers as the company looks to shed debt for its Equitrans Midstream acquisition.
TotalEnergies, Vanguard Renewables Form RNG JV in US
2024-04-24 - Total Energies and Vanguard Renewable’s equally owned joint venture initially aims to advance 10 RNG projects into construction during the next 12 months.
Ithaca Energy to Buy Eni's UK Assets in $938MM North Sea Deal
2024-04-23 - Eni, one of Italy's biggest energy companies, will transfer its U.K. business in exchange for 38.5% of Ithaca's share capital, while the existing Ithaca Energy shareholders will own the remaining 61.5% of the combined group.
EIG’s MidOcean Closes Purchase of 20% Stake in Peru LNG
2024-04-23 - MidOcean Energy’s deal for SK Earthon’s Peru LNG follows a March deal to purchase Tokyo Gas’ LNG interests in Australia.
Marketed: Stone Hill Minerals Holdings 95 Well Package in Colorado
2024-02-28 - Stone Hill Minerals Holdings has retained EnergyNet for the sale of a D-J Basin 95 well package in Weld County, Colorado.