Top bar

About POGO's Federal Contractor Misconduct Database (FCMD)

The government awards contracts to companies with histories of misconduct such as contract fraud and environmental, ethics, and labor violations. In the absence of a centralized federal database listing instances of misconduct, the Project On Government Oversight (POGO) is providing such data. We believe that it will lead to improved contracting decisions and public access to information about how the government spends hundreds of billions of taxpayer money each year on goods and services. Report an instance of misconduct »

Royal Dutch Shell PLC

Panalpina Group Foreign Bribery: DOJ Investigation

Date: 11/04/2010 (Date of Settlement Agreement)

Misconduct Type: Ethics

Enforcement Agency: Justice

Contracting Party: None

Court Type: Criminal

Amount: $30,000,000

Disposition: Deferred Prosecution Agreement

Synopsis: Swiss shipping and logistics company Panalpina Group and several of its oil and gas service company customers, including Royal Dutch Shell, agreed to pay over $156 million in penalties to settle Foreign Corrupt Practices Act criminal charges filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Panalpina admitted that between 2002 and 2007, it paid thousands of bribes totaling at least $27 million to foreign officials in at least seven countries, including Angola, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Russia and Turkmenistan in order to circumvent local rules and regulations relating to the import of goods and materials. Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Ltd. (SNEPCO), admitted that it approved of or condoned the payment of bribes on their behalf in Nigeria and falsely recorded the bribe payments as legitimate business expenses in their corporate records. To resolve the matter, the Department of Justice and Shell entered into a 3-year deferred prosecution agreement that required, among other things, SNEPCO to pay a $30 million criminal penalty. See related Royal Dutch Shell instance, “Panalpina Group Foreign Bribery: SEC Investigation.”