Wood settle bribery probe with $177m settlement

John Wood Group PLC has agreed to pay US$177mln to settle a corruption and bribery inquiry related to Amec Foster Wheeler, which it acquired in 2017.

Terms of the settlement will see Wood pay the money over three years and subject to court approval concludes an investigation that has spanned the UK, US and Brazil.

Wood said the settlement relates to conduct that occurred before Amec acquired Foster Wheeler in November 2014 and prior to its acquisition of the combined firm in October 2017.

The oilfield services firm said it cooperated fully with all authorities in their investigations, which is reflected in the cooperation credit that Wood received from the authorities in their respective resolutions.

Wood and the SFO will seek final judicial approval of the agreement on 1 July 2021.

 Robin Watson, chief executive, said: "The investigations brought to light unacceptable, albeit historical, behaviour that I condemn in the strongest terms.

“Although we inherited these issues through acquisition, we took full responsibility in addressing them, as any responsible business would.

“Since our acquisition of Amec Foster Wheeler, we have cooperated fully with the authorities and have taken steps to further improve our ethics and compliance programme from an already strong foundation.

“ I'm pleased that, subject to final court approval in the UK, we have been able to resolve these issues and can now look to the future."

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