In Paris on Wednesday, TechnipFMC and Technip Energies obtained validation of a judicial agreement involving a fine of 209 million euros to settle 15-year-old corruption cases in Africa inherited from their ancestor Technip SA.
The Paris judicial court validated the payment by TechnipFMC and Technip Energies of fines of €179.45 million and €29.45 million respectively to avoid prosecution in corruption cases between 2008 and 2012 in Ghana and Equatorial Guinea.
On Tuesday, the two groups announced their agreement to this public interest judicial convention (Cjip).
As pointed out by the president of the judicial court, Stéphane Noël, who presided over the hearing that approved the agreement on Wednesday morning, the two separate companies, which were spun off from Technip SA, the former parent company that ceased to exist in 2017, have admitted acts of bribery of a foreign public official.
“In 2008, a project to develop and exploit an oil field in the waters of Ghana led employees of Technip France to recruit an intermediary to facilitate” the obtaining of the contract, “who called on a paid third party”, a commercial agent, who handed over “part of the funds to three Ghanaian state leaders”, according to Mr. Noël.
“At the same time, an oil and gas development project in Equatorial Guinea” led Technip France to use “the same intermediary who had privileged links” with a member of the family of an Equatorial Guinean secretary of state, according to Mr. Noël.
According to financial prosecutor Céline Guillet, commissions of 2 and 7 million dollars, “which were the subject of at least partial corrupt payments”, were established.
The Financial Public Prosecutor, Jean-François Bohnert, described “five years of intense work” for the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) and the OCLCIFF (Central Office for Combating Tax and Financial Offences), represented by its divisional commander Pascal Fontenille since the preliminary investigation was opened at the end of 2017.
In detail, TechnipFMC has accepted a fine of €154.7 million but will also pay €24.7 million in fines owed by Technip Energies under their demerger agreement of early 2021. Technip Energies will still have to pay a fine of €29.45 million.