On June 17, 2019, the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas dismissed the criminal information that it had filed against German engineering and construction firm Bilfinger SE in December 2013, ending the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act case against the company for paying over $6 million in bribes to Nigerian government officials in order to obtain $387 million worth of contracts on the Eastern Gas Gathering System. As part of a deferred prosecution agreement entered into at that time, the company agreed to pay a criminal penalty of $32 million, cooperate with the US Department of Justice’s ongoing investigation, implement an enhanced compliance program, and engage an independent compliance monitor for three years. In September 2016, the parties agreed to extend the term of the DPA until December 2018, following which, it was agreed, the government would not continue the criminal prosecution against Bilfinger and would move to dismiss the criminal information.
On June 14, 2019, having concluded that Bilfinger had fully met its obligations under the extended DPA, the government moved to dismiss the Information with prejudice, and on June 17, the court granted the government’s motion.