On March 30, 2026, the Netherland’s Public Prosecution Service (“Openbaar Ministerie” or “OM”) announced that it reached a settlement with construction company Strukton to resolve a foreign bribery investigation. The company agreed to pay €10 million ($11.7 million) to resolve allegations that it bribed foreign officials and forged documents during the construction of a metro line in Saudi Arabia. While the settlement resolves the OM’s criminal case against Strukton, prosecutors indicated that they have sufficient evidence to charge a number of individuals involved with these crimes and intends to prosecute them.
According to the OM, in 2018, the FIOD began investigating Strukton under the authority of the Public Prosecution Service, into the possible bribery of Saudi Arabian officials. Investigators allegedly found that, from February 2013 and June 2021, Strukton paid a total of $31 million in bribes to a foreign official using a company that acted as Strukton’s agent. In exchange for the improper payments, Strukton was awarded part of the contract to build a metro line in Riyadh. Investigators also found that Strukton deliberately provided incorrect information on an application for export credit insurance showing that Strukton paid the agent $1.5 million, rather than the $27.5 million that was promised – a forgery that allegedly concealed that the bribes were paid to the agent in exchange for part of the metro line contract.
According to the OM, the settlement amount is appropriate considering that Strukton engaged in conduct that was “very reprehensible” in nature. In determining the amount of the settlement, OM prosecutors took into consideration Strukton’s willingness to bribe a high-ranking member of Saudi Arabia’s ruling family; the negative impact of the case on international trade; and the company’s efforts to conceal the bribery from the external auditor and the export credit insurance company. The OM also considered the remedial and compliance measures undertaken by Strukton to prevent future offenses; the fact that none of the employees directly involved in the misconduct still work for Strukton; and the fact that Strukton has never been convicted of these or similar offenses in the past. OM also noted the amount of time that has elapsed since misconduct occurred and allegedly paid special attention to Strukton’s cooperation with FIOD investigators since 2022 and its compliance program that has been under review since 2017.