Defendant Name: Weatherford International plc

Defendant Type: Public Company

Document Reference: 2013-252

Document Details

Legal Case Name SEC v. Weatherford International Ltd.
Document Name SEC Charges Weatherford International With FCPA Violations
Document Date 26-Nov-2013
Document Format Civil Proceeding
Case Number 13-cv-03500
Allegation Type Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
Document Summary On November 26, 2013, the SEC announced that it charged oilfield services company Weatherford International ("Weatherford") with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by authorizing bribes and improper travel and entertainment for foreign officials in the Middle East and Africa to win business, including kickbacks in Iraq to obtain United Nations Oil-for-Food contracts. According to the SEC's complaint filed in federal court in Houston, Weatherford and its subsidiaries falsified its books and records to conceal not only these illicit payments, but also commercial transactions with Cuba, Iran, Syria, and Sudan that violated U.S. sanctions and export control laws. Weatherford agreed to pay more than $250 million to settle the SEC's charges and parallel actions by the Department of Justice's Fraud Section, U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas, Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security, and Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Disgorgement & Penalty Information

Resolutions
Compliance Related Independent Consultant
Other Compliance Related Undertaking
Unspecified Undertakings
Monetary Penalties:

Total Penalty

Individual:     $65,612,360.34 Shared:    

Related Documents:

comp-pr2013-252 26-Nov-2013 Complaint
Complaint
On November 26, 2013, the SEC filed a complaint against Weatherford International Ltd. According to the SEC: "This action arises from violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ('FCPA') by Weatherford International Ltd. ('Weatherford'), a Swiss corporation with operations in Houston, Texas, that is a global provider of equipment and services to the oil and gas industry."
LR-22880 26-Nov-2013 Litigation Release
SEC Charges Weatherford International with FCPA Violations
On November 26, 2013, the SEC announced filing a settled complaint against Weatherford International Ltd. alleging the company violated "the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by authorizing bribes and improper travel and entertainment for foreign officials in the Middle East and Africa to win business, including kickbacks in Iraq to obtain United Nations Oil-for-Food contracts." According to the SEC: "Weatherford agreed to pay $90,984,844 in disgorgement, $4,399,423.34 in prejudgment interest, and a $1.875 million civil penalty assessed in part for lack of cooperation during the investigation. $31,646,907 of the payment to the SEC will be satisfied by Weatherford's agreement to pay an equal amount to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Weatherford agreed to pay $87 million in criminal fines to the Department of Justice for the FCPA violations, and $100 million to the other three agencies for the sanctions violations. The company also must comply with certain undertakings, including the retention of an independent compliance monitor for 18 months and self-reporting to the SEC staff for an additional 18 months."
court_doc9_13-cv-03500 19-Dec-2013 Court Docket Document
Final Judgment as to Defendant Weatherford International Ltd.
On December 19, 2013, Federal District Judge Gray Hampton Miller entered final judgment against Weatherford International Ltd. pursuant to the consent of Weatherford International Ltd.