Trader Trafigura Pleads Guilty to a Decade of Oil Bribery in Brazil
- Editor
- Mar 28, 2024
- 1 min read
Summary: In March 2024, Trafigura pleaded guilty in a U.S. court to a decade-long bribery scheme in Brazil and agreed to pay $127 million in fines and forfeitures. The scheme, which ran from 2003 to 2014, involved bribes to officials at Petrobras to secure lucrative oil trading deals, earning Trafigura $61 million in illicit profits. The case is part of the wider “Car Wash” scandal that has implicated multiple global commodity traders. The U.S. DOJ criticized Trafigura for its initial non-cooperation, delayed document production, and failure to discipline involved employees. The company later enhanced its compliance protocols, including a 2019 ban on using third parties for deal origination. This marks the first formal admission of guilt by Trafigura in an international bribery case, further damaging its reputation after past controversies such as the 2006 Ivory Coast toxic waste scandal.
Source: Bloomberg
