WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced July 27 that it has charged Halliburton Company with allegations of violating the books and records and internal accounting controls provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
The allegations relate to the payments made to a local company in Angola while winning lucrative oilfield services contracts. Halliburton profited by around $14 million from the deals and will pay $29.2 million to settle the allegations. Additionally, the company will obtain an independent compliance consultant to oversee anti-corruption policies and procedures in Africa, and the company’s former vice president Jeannot Lorenz agreed to a $75,000 penalty for causing the violations.
Halliburton and Lorenz agreed to the consent order but did not admit or deny the findings of the case.
“Halliburton committed to using a particular supplier that posed significant FCPA risks and a company vice president circumvented important internal accounting controls to get the deal done quickly,” said Antonia Chion, associate director in the SEC’s Enforcement Division.
“Companies and their executives must comply with these internal accounting controls that help ensure the integrity of corporate transactions.”
Handling the case for the SEC were attorneys Ansu N. Banerjee and Steven A. Susswein, with assistance from Alfred Day and Thomas Bednar. Melissa R. Hodgman and Chion supervised the case.