Seatrium
FRA supports oil and gas rig builder Seatrium with gain analysis in its settlement of corruption allegations with Singapore, Brazil authorities.
In a first-of-its-kind coordinated settlement between Brazilian and Singaporean authorities, Singapore-based oil and gas rig builder Seatrium resolved allegations of corruption arising from Brazil’s Operation Car Wash investigations. The matter concluded with the High Court of Singapore approving the country’s first-ever Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) under the corporate settlement mechanism introduced in 2018.
Under the approved settlement, Seatrium agreed to a $110 million Singaporean DPA, of which $57 million is payable to Singaporean authorities, with the remaining amount offset by payments made to Brazilian authorities. The Singaporean resolution, together with two leniency agreements signed in Brazil with the Federal Prosecution Service (MPF) and the Attorney General’s Office and the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU), marks the conclusion of Operation Car Wash–related enforcement actions against the company.
The investigations focused on alleged illicit payments to Brazilian public officials in connection with contracts with state‑owned oil company Petrobras between 2007 and 2014. The coordinated resolutions span multiple jurisdictions and represent a significant milestone in cross‑border anti‑corruption enforcement.
Engaged by external counsel to work on the gain analysis, FRA conducted extensive document reviews, financial analyses, and interviews with company personnel related to the contracts subject to the allegations. These contracts involved many subsidiaries, and many of them dated back more than 15 years, with several never reaching completion, which presented challenges related to the completeness of data, historical documentation, and the identification of individuals with first‑hand knowledge. FRA also needed to consider contract-related financial aspects in our analyses, such as intercompany activity, multiple foreign currencies, and inflation. Accordingly, we established a robust, reliable, and reasonable approach to calculating the financial results of these contracts.
FRA provided profit analyses to the Brazilian authorities (CGU and MPF) and supported US and Brazilian Counsel throughout the negotiations stage, attending numerous meetings with the regulators to present our calculations and underlying methodology. We further supported Singapore Counsel by providing our analysis and addressing follow-up questions from the Singaporean authorities.
Read more from Global Investigations Review here.
Contact the FRA experts involved to learn more:
FRA Co-founding Partner Toby Duthie
FRA Director Carolyn McDonnell
FRA Manager Guilherme Montassier
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