SINGAPORE – Singapore-listed Seatrium should pay a US$110 million (S$149 million) fine in connection with alleged corruption offences in Brazil dating back some 15 years.

But because the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) was willing to take into consideration what the group would have to pay the Brazilian authorities as part of that total amount, Seatrium, formerly known as Sembcorp Marine, only has to pay the remaining US$57 million to the Singapore authorities, said a statement issued on March 28.

The statement was released after the group had asked for its shares to be suspended from trading on the mainboard early on March 28.

Additionally, there would be no material impact on Seatrium’s net earnings and net tangible assets per share in the current financial year ending Dec 31.

This is because the group had already made $76.5 million in provisions in the previous financial year.

Described as one of the world’s largest offshore and marine energy engineering companies with a total order book of almost $20 billion, Seatrium was formed through a merger between Sembcorp Marine and Keppel Offshore & Marine in 2023.

Separately, the AGC and the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau jointly issued a release also on March 28 saying that the public prosecutor was in discussions with Seatrium to hammer out the details of the deal, also known as a deferred prosecution agreement.

Such a settlement, in which the prosecutor agrees to defer criminal charges against a corporate offender, would require Seatrium to comply with several key conditions, including admitting wrongdoing, paying the fine and implementing corporate reform.

For now, details of the agreement have yet to be set in stone, and a stamp of approval from the High Court will also be required.

In the meantime, Seatrium is advising its shareholders to exercise caution and consult professional advisers on what course to take, because the agreement remains subject to both the AGC’s assent and the High Court’s approval.

Seatrium’s share price closed unchanged at 7.9 cents on March 28.

Meanwhile, the AGC statement also noted that unlike in the case against Keppel Offshore & Marine, where there was a dearth of evidence, for the situation at hand, there was “sufficient evidence to mount a prosecution”.

As a result, two individuals were charged on March 28: Wong Weng Sun, 62, and Lee Fook Kang, 75.

At the time of the offence, Wong was Sembcorp Marine’s president, executive director and chief executive officer. He was also the managing director of the firm’s wholly owned subsidiary, Jurong Shipyard, where Lee was senior general manager.

Both Wong and Lee are charged with five counts of corruption each for paying out more than $50 million in bribes between 2009 and 2014 to further their companies’ business interests in Brazil.

The specific charges linked to advancing Jurong Shipyard’s interests involve up to US$2 million in total bribes to induce one or more Brazilian officials in 2009; up to US$1.7 million in total bribes to induce one or more Brazilian politicians in 2010; and up to US$1.9 million in total bribes to reward one or more Petroleo Brasileiro officers between 2010 and 2012.

In relation to advancing the business interests of Estaleiro Jurong Aracruz (EJA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Sembcorp Marine, one charge involves bribes of up to US$300,000 to reward one or more Brazilian officials in 2010.

The other charge is for rewarding individuals with up to 2.5 per cent of the value of each drilling rig contract that EJA secured from Sete Brasil Participacoes and involves bribes amounting to a sum total of US$26.48 million, €10.51 million (S$15.3 million) and 5.07 million Brazilian real (S$1.35 million) given to consultant Guilherme Esteves de Jesus between 2012 and 2014.

Wong faces a further charge of obstruction of justice over allegedly instructing his subordinates in 2014 to remove an e-mail containing evidence of the bribes.

If convicted of a corruption offence, the individuals face a five-year term in prison and/or a fine of up to $100,000.

The punishment for those found guilty of obstruction of justice is a jail term of up to seven years and/or a fine.