Willbros Group deferred prosecution agreement and SEC settlement (2008)

Last checked: 23 October 2026 · Case records

On 14 May 2008 Willbros Group Inc. and its subsidiary Willbros International Inc. entered a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice and agreed to a US$22 million criminal penalty ^1,2. The case concerned payments to officials in Nigeria and Ecuador ¹. Willbros Group settled SEC charges without admitting or denying them and agreed to pay US$10.3 million in disgorgement and interest ³. DOJ moved to dismiss the charges on 30 March 2012, saying the companies had met their obligations ⁴.

Resolution type: Deferred prosecution agreement (DOJ) and consent judgment (SEC) ^1,3
Date: 14 May 2008 ^1,3
Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Criminal case 4:08-cr-00287 ^4,5. SEC civil action 4:08-CV-01494 ³
Agencies: U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division Fraud Section, FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation and the SEC, with help from Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ¹
Total: More than US$32 million, per DOJ ¹
DOJ penalty: US$22 million, paid jointly and severally in four instalments ²
SEC: US$8.9 million disgorgement and US$1.4 million prejudgment interest (Willbros Group) ³
Charges: Six-count information: conspiracy, two FCPA bribery counts and three books and records counts ¹
Admission: DPA: "WGI and WII admit, accept and acknowledge that they are responsible for the acts of their officers, employees and agents" ². SEC: "without admitting or denying the Commission's allegations" ³
Term and monitor: Three years and seven days. Independent monitor for three years ²
Status: DOJ moved to dismiss on 30 March 2012. DOJ lists an order granting the motion filed 2 April 2012 ^4,5

The charges

DOJ filed a six-count criminal information against Willbros Group Inc. (WGI), an oil and gas construction and engineering company, and Willbros International Inc. (WII), its subsidiary for international work ¹. One count charged conspiracy to pay bribes to Nigerian and Ecuadoran officials ¹. Two counts charged FCPA violations for authorising specific corrupt payments ¹. Three counts charged falsifying books and records, covering the bribes and a tax fraud scheme ¹.

The payments DOJ described

DOJ said that from late 2003 to March 2005 Willbros employees agreed to pay more than US$6.3 million to Nigerian officials to help win and keep a US$387 million contract for the Eastern Gas Gathering System, a gas pipeline project ¹. DOJ said the intended recipients included officials of the state oil company NNPC and its subsidiary NAPIMS, a senior federal executive branch official, officials of the multinational company operating the project joint venture, and a political party ¹.

DOJ said employees based in South America agreed to pay about US$300,000 to officials of PetroEcuador and its subsidiary PetroComercial to help win a pipeline rehabilitation project from Santo Domingo to El Beaterio ¹.

The deferred prosecution agreement

Paragraph 2 of the agreement says "WGI and WII admit, accept and acknowledge that they are responsible for the acts of their officers, employees and agents" ². The term was three years and seven calendar days, with a possible one-year extension after a knowing violation ².

The companies agreed to retain an independent monitor for three years ². The agreement says DOJ deferred prosecution based on the companies' cooperation, the penalty and their remedial measures, including the compliance code and monitor review ².

Instalment	Amount	Due
First ²	US$10,000,000 ²	Within 10 calendar days of signing ²
Second ²	US$4,000,000 ²	By the first anniversary of the first payment ²
Third ²	US$4,000,000 ²	By the second anniversary ²
Fourth ²	US$4,000,000 ²	After the third anniversary and before the end of the term ²

The SEC case

The SEC charged Willbros Group with violations of Exchange Act sections 30A, 10(b), 13(a), 13(b)(2)(A) and 13(b)(2)(B), related rules, and Securities Act section 17(a) ³. It consented to a permanent injunction and to pay US$8.9 million in disgorgement and US$1.4 million in prejudgment interest ³.

The SEC alleged that beginning by at least 2003 Willbros paid more than US$6 million in bribes to Nigerian officials and to employees of the operator of a government-majority-owned joint venture ³. It alleged that fabricated invoices were used to obtain cash from the Houston office to fund bribes to Nigerian tax and court officials ³. The SEC said the defendants settled "without admitting or denying the Commission's allegations" ³.

The SEC charged four former employees in the same action ³. Jason Steph and Lloyd Biggers consented to injunctions ³. Gerald Jansen consented to an injunction and a US$30,000 civil penalty, and Carlos Galvez to an injunction and a US$35,000 civil penalty ³.

Status

On 30 March 2012 DOJ moved before Judge Sim Lake to dismiss the information under Rule 48(a) ⁴. The motion said the companies paid the US$22 million penalty in four instalments and met their cooperation obligations ⁴. It said "the Independent Corporate Monitor has confirmed that they have met all of their obligations under the DPA" ⁴. The DOJ case page lists an order granting the motion, filed on 2 April 2012 ⁵.

The DOJ case page lists related criminal cases against individuals ⁵. This page does not cover them. DOJ said Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission assisted the investigation ¹. This page has not found an official or named-reporter source on any Nigerian case against Willbros.

The Willbros case is separate from the Bonny Island LNG cases. See the records for Kellogg Brown & Root and Halliburton, Technip, Snamprogetti and ENI, JGC and Marubeni.

Common questions

Did Willbros plead guilty?

No. Willbros Group and Willbros International entered a deferred prosecution agreement and accepted responsibility for the acts of their officers, employees and agents ².

How much did Willbros pay?

A US$22 million criminal penalty and US$10.3 million to the SEC, more than US$32 million in total ^1,3.

Was Willbros part of Bonny Island?

No. DOJ said the Nigerian payments concerned the Eastern Gas Gathering System pipeline contract ¹.

Were the Willbros charges dismissed?

DOJ moved to dismiss on 30 March 2012 and lists an order granting the motion filed 2 April 2012 ^4,5.

Rules and fees change. Check the official site linked above before you apply or pay. Spotted an error? Email [email protected] with the official link.

Sources

Kellogg Brown & Root guilty plea and KBR and Halliburton SEC settlement (2009)
Kellogg Brown & Root LLC pleaded guilty in 2009 to FCPA charges over Nigeria's Bonny Island LNG project. Fine, admissions, SEC terms and Nigeria.
Technip S.A. deferred prosecution agreement and SEC settlement (2010)
Technip S.A. entered a DOJ deferred prosecution agreement and settled SEC charges in June 2010 over Bonny Island LNG bribes in Nigeria. Amounts and terms.
Snamprogetti Netherlands deferred prosecution agreement and ENI SEC settlement (2010)
Snamprogetti Netherlands B.V. entered a DOJ deferred prosecution agreement in July 2010 and settled SEC charges with ENI over Bonny Island LNG bribes.
Corporate monitors explained
When DOJ and the SEC require an independent compliance monitor, how monitors are chosen and paid, how long they serve, with case examples.
Deferred and non-prosecution agreements explained
How U.S. deferred prosecution agreements and non-prosecution agreements work for companies, the Justice Manual factors, and what the company admits.