A Gol aircraft preparing to land in Rio de Janeiro. The $41.5 million fine represented a drastic discount from the $157 million the airline was originally slated to pay U.S. authorities alone.
Photo: sergio moraes/Reuters
One of Brazil’s largest airlines admitted to violating antibribery laws and agreed to pay $41.5 million in penalties over a decade-old scheme to influence lawmakers in Brazil.
The settlements with Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes SA were announced by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department on Thursday. The São Paulo-based airline also was fined by Brazilian authorities for the same conduct, the U.S. agencies said.
Federal prosecutors imposed a $15.3 million fine, while regulators at the SEC levied $22.8 million in penalties. Gol has also agreed to pay another $3.4 million in penalties in Brazil, according to U.S. authorities.
The U.S. fines represent a substantial discount for Gol, which was originally slated to pay as much as $157 million under its agreements with the SEC and Justice Department. The penalties were reduced because Gol demonstrated it was financially strained and unable to pay the full amount, the agencies said.
Gol also received credit for what prosecutors characterized as its extensive cooperation with the U.S. investigations, for redesigning its anticorruption systems and for hiring a new chief compliance officer to oversee its first dedicated compliance department.
Between 2012 and 2013, Gol paid around $3.8 million in bribes to officials in Brazil, part of a campaign to secure the passage of payroll and fuel tax legislation that benefited Gol and other Brazilian airlines, prosecutors said.
Gol was administratively charged by the SEC with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and also entered into a three-year agreement with the Justice Department under which prosecutors agreed to dismiss a criminal conspiracy charge if the company paid a fine and undertook further compliance reforms.
The airline acknowledged the settlements in a statement Thursday, saying it has fully cooperated with U.S. and Brazilian authorities. A spokesman declined to comment further on the matter.
The documents pointed to high-level involvement in the bribery scheme. To pay the bribes, a member of Gol’s board had the company enter into sham contracts with entities tied to Brazilian officials, prosecutors said. The bribes were then disguised as advertising expenses and other services on Gol’s books.
The director involved in the bribery scheme resigned from his position and no longer works for the company, prosecutors said.
Write to Dylan Tokar at [email protected]
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Appeared in the September 17, 2022, print edition as ‘Gol to Pay $41.5 Million To Settle Bribery Charges.’
