Waste Management Firm Stericycle to Pay $84 Million Over FCPA Case, Bribes to Latin American Officials

International waste management company Stericycle agreed to pay over $84 million to settle investigations by the U.S. and Brazil into Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations relating to bribes to Mexican, Argentinian and Brazilian officials, DOJ announced April 20. Stericycle entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement over a criminal case charging the company with two counts of conspiracy to violate the FCPA's anti-bribery provision and books and records provision.

The DPA lays out a $52.5 million criminal penalty, with DOJ agreeing to credit up to one-third of the penalty against fines the company must pay to Brazilian authorities in related proceedings, DOJ said. The Brazilian penalties total around $9.3 million to settle investigations. The defendant also agreed to pay $28 million to resolve a related matter led by the SEC.

According to the DPA, from 2011 to 2016, Stericycle agreed to pay around $10.5 million in bribes to foreign officials in Mexico, Brazil and Argentina to obtain waste management business and other advantages for the company. The company allegedly earned around $21.5 million in profits from the scheme. The bribes were calculated as being a percentage of the contracts paid to Stericycle from government buyers, DOJ said. The bribe payments were tracked through spreadsheets and coded through special words and euphemisms, DOJ said.

The defendant will continue to cooperate with DOJ in any future criminal proceedings related to the bribery scheme as part of the DPA. The company also agreed to bolster its compliance program and to hire an independent compliance monitor for two years.

“Stericycle today accepted responsibility for its corrupt business practices in paying millions of dollars in bribes to foreign officials in multiple countries,” Assistant Attorney General, DOJ Criminal Division Kenneth Polite said. “The company also maintained false books and records to conceal corrupt and improper payments made by its subsidiaries in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. Today’s resolution demonstrates the Department of Justice’s continuing commitment to combating corruption and protecting the international marketplace.”