WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a settlement this week with the U.S. Department of Justice and Brazilian authorities that requires Embraer SA, an aircraft manufacturer, to pay $205 million for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violation allegations.
According to the SEC, Embraer profited more than $83 million from alleged bribe payments from its U.S.-based subsidiary. These payments were purportedly given by third party agents as incentives to foreign government officials in the Dominican Republic, Saudi Arabia and Mozambique.
“As alleged in our complaint, Embraer realized significant revenues by surreptitiously using third parties to mask bribes paid to government officials with influence over contracts it was competing to win,” said Andrew J. Ceresney, director of the SEC Enforcement Division.
Embraer will pay $107 million to the Justice Department and $98 million in disgorgement to the SEC. Additionally, the company will need to maintain independent monitors for the next three years.
“Embraer’s alleged misconduct spanned multiple continents, and it has taken significant ongoing coordination among international regulators and law enforcement agencies to uncover the company’s complex bribery schemes,” said Kara N. Brockmeyer, Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s FCPA Unit.