SQM Inc., Santiago, on Aug. 19 reported that the three-year term of its Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) entered into with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Jan. 13, 2017, ended on April 30, 2020, and on June 1, 2020, the company submitted the certification regarding its disclosure obligations as required under the DPA.
The DOJ has since indicated that pursuant to the DPA it will file a motion to dismiss the criminal information against SQM with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by Oct. 30, 2020. Subject to the court’s approval of the motion, all charges against the company will be dismissed with prejudice.
As part of the DPA, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on Jan. 13, 2017, that SQM agreed to pay more than $30 million to resolve parallel civil and criminal cases finding that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) (GM Jan. 20, 2017).
According to the SEC’s order, SQM made nearly $15 million in improper payments to Chilean political figures and others connected to them. Most of the payments were made based on fake documentation submitted to SQM by individuals and entities posing as legitimate vendors. The payments occurred for at least a seven-year period.
“SQM permitted millions of dollars in payments to local politicians while failing for years to exercise proper oversight over a key discretionary account and internal controls,” said an SEC spokesperson.
SQM agreed to pay a $15 million penalty to settle the SEC’s charges and a $15.5 million penalty as part of the DPA. SQM agreed to retain an independent compliance monitor for two years and self-report to the SEC and DOJ for one year after the monitor’s work was complete.