There is evidence that employees of Dutch maritime services group SBM Offshore may have made payments to government officials in Angola and Equatorial Guinea, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement covers the results of an internal investigation into claims the company bribed officials in Brazil and several African countries.

The investigation, which was carried out by independent external counsel and forensic accountants, focused on the period 2007 to 2011.

Payments

In Angola and Equatorial Guinea ‘there is some evidence that payments may have been made directly or indirectly to government officials’, the company said.

In Equatorial Guinea, the company’s agent has repaid $10m of total payments of $18.8m after being requested to do so. SBM Offshore is ‘unable to determine how much, if any, of the remaining amount was paid to government officials’, the statement said.

In Angola, the company used multiple agents who received payments of $22.7m over the period. It is unclear what proportion of that money may have gone on bribes, the company said.

Brazil

In Brazil ‘there were certain red flags but the investigation did not find any credible evidence that the company or the company’s agent made improper payments to government officials (including state company employees),’ the statement said.

The company paid commission of $139m to its agent in Brazil but they delivered ‘substantial and legitimate services at a time when SBM’s permanent non-operational presence in Brazil was very limited  – four people in 2007 compared to 220 today, the statement said.

SBM Offshore says it has tightened up its procedures since the allegations first came to light in 2012.

Chief executive Sietze Hepkema said in an interview with Wednesday’s Financieele Dagblad the investigation’s findings are currently being discussed with Dutch and American justice department officials.

‘I am very pleased with the conclusions about Brazil. We do a lot of business there,’ Hepkema said.

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