On 30 July 2025 the Singapore Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) announced (click here) that the Singapore Public Prosecutor had issued a hefty fine under a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) for corruption offences involving the Brazilian affiliates of Seatrium Limited, a Singapore-based company.
What is it about?
- The case stems from Brazil’s infamous Operation Car Wash (also known as Lava Jato), a major anti-corruption investigation extending many years into Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras), the Brazilian national oil company and its contractors. Seatrium Limited (known as Sembcorp Marine Limited at the time of illicit dealings) became implicated through its Brazilian subsidiary, which allegedly made corrupt payments linked to oil rig and energy contracts. Brazilian authorities began proceedings in 2023 against the unit Estaleiro Jurong Aracruz, including charges of money laundering and corruption against a former president.
- The Public Prosecutor recently entered into a DPA (click here) with Seatrium covering these offences. The terms of the DPA require the company to pay a financial penalty of USD $110 million with up to USD $53 million credit for payments made to Brazilian authorities under an expected (but yet to be confirmed) leniency agreement, and to strengthen its ethics and compliance programme. The DPA will take effect only if approved by the Singapore High Court, which must be satisfied that it is in the interests of justice and is proportionate. Failure by Seatrium to comply with the requirements set out in the DPA could lead to its termination and subsequent prosecution.
- Alongside the financial penalty, according to reports from other sources, Singapore’s AGC has also confirmed the conclusion of joint investigations by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD), with no further action to be taken against Seatrium or its employees. For energy and commodity compliance professionals, the case is a timely reminder of the jurisdictional reach that regulators have in bribery and corruption cases when coordinating across jurisdictions. Operation Car Wash has provided many such examples in recent years.
The fallout from Operation Car Wash has touched many jurisdictions outside of Brazil. More recently, in 2024 the Swiss Office of the Attorney General announced (click here) a criminal enforcement action against PKB Privatbank SA for failing to establish the necessary organisational arrangements to prevent two of its employees from partaking in a significant money laundering scheme involving Petrobras. This case in Singapore is unlikely to be the last case involving Operation Car Wash.
