Honeywell pays $81M to settle SEC Foreign Corrupt Practices charges

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against Honeywell for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act arising out of bribery schemes that took place in Brazil and Algeria. The company has agreed to pay more than $81M to settle the SEC’s charges. The SEC’s order finds that Honeywell "engaged in a bribery scheme involving intermediaries and employees of its U.S. subsidiary to obtain business from the Brazil state-owned entity Petrobras." Honeywell offered at least $4M in bribes to a high-ranking Brazilian government official in connection with the bidding process at Petrobras, according to the agency. Honeywell consented to the SEC’s order that it violated the anti-bribery, books and records, and internal accounting controls provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The SEC’s order provides for an offset of up to approximately $38.7M of any payments made to Brazilian authorities. Therefore, the company’s minimum payment to the SEC would be approximately $42.4M. In a parallel case, Honeywell also entered into a deferred prosecution agreement and agreed to pay more than $78M to settle criminal charges brought by the Department of Justice. Honeywell also agreed to settle additional charges brought by the Brazilian government. Reference Link