Geneva oil trader reaches $661M settlement with US, Swiss authorities over bribery in Ecuador

Geneva-based commodities trading firm Gunvor said Friday that it has reached $661 million settlement with U.S. and Swiss prosecutors after a conviction for bribery of foreign officials in connection with the petroleum industry in Ecuador. The Swiss attorney general’s office said the company didn’t take “reasonable and necessary organizational measures” to prevent bribery by its employees in the South American country over four years starting in February 2013. U.S. authorities said the settlement included a criminal penalty of over $374 million and an agreement of Gunvor to forfeit more than $287 million in “ill-gotten gains.”