NEW YORK (Reuters) -The global energy trader Gunvor is expected to plead guilty to a felony charge of conspiring to violate a U.S. anti-bribery law, court filings showed on Friday.
Gunvor’s expected plea to conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act was disclosed on Friday in the Brooklyn, New York.
The U.S. Department of Justice is expected to file a so-called criminal information that describes its case.
Gunvor’s plea would wrap up a long-running U.S. government probe after the Justice Department and the Commodity and Futures Trading Commission subpoenaed the Geneva-based company in 2020.
A former employee in 2021 pleaded guilty to his role in an alleged scheme to bribe Ecuadorean government officials to win business.
Gunvor has set aside $650 million to resolve the probe, people familiar with the matter said in December.
The probe is part of a multi-year push by U.S. authorities to root out fraud and misconduct in the commodities sector.
Commodities traders who buy and sell raw materials often operate in jurisdictions where corruption is common, putting them at risk of violating the FCPA, which prohibits paying bribes to foreign officials.
Foreign companies that conduct business in the United States are subject to that law.
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