On October 25, 2021, the multinational company Rolls-Royce entered into a leniency agreement with the Office of the Comptroller-General (CGU) and the Office of the Attorney-General (AGU) due to the payments of bribes through third-party intermediaries in exchange for Petrobras’ contracts, which were revealed during the Operation Car Wash investigations.
Two Operation Car Wash whistleblowers informed that Rolls-Royce paid a total of USD 9.3 million in bribes between 2003 and 2013 to secure contracts to supply power generation equipment to six oil platforms of Petrobras.
The CGU leniency agreement was entered in the context of Rolls-Royce’s global resolution with Brazilian, American and UK authorities. In 2017, Rolls-Royce entered into simultaneous agreements with the Federal Prosecutor’s Office (MPF), the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to resolve bribe offences committed in several countries, including Brazil, China, Indonesia, Russia and Nigeria.
The total value of CGU leniency agreement amounts to USD 27.8 million, of which USD 2.2 million will be paid to the Union, within 30 days of the signing of the agreement, in order to complement the payment of USD 25. 6 million that had already been made in Brazil. In addition, the UK-based company committed to improve its compliance program.
By signing this agreement, the CGU and the AGU ascertain their authority in leniency matters by establishing additional amounts to those previously paid due to an agreement with the MPF.
For more information, please contact Saud Advogados.