The Justice Department has dropped the hammer on a global bribery ring involving some of the biggest names in commodities trading, racking up more than $1.7 billion in fines, forfeitures, and penalties. The sweeping crackdown resulted from a massive investigation that uncovered crooked schemes to bribe officials in exchange for lucrative business with state-owned oil giants in Latin America and Africa.

Since 2017, the feds have been hot on the tail of these companies, peeling back layer after layer of corruption in schemes that spanned continents and involved millions in dirty money. The dragnet has so far entangled six corporations and led to the convictions of twenty individuals, according to a statement obtained by the Justice Department.

Among the big fish caught in the net is Trafigura Beheer B.V., the trading behemoth that just pleaded guilty in Florida to greasing palms in Brazil. Not far behind is Sargeant Marine Inc., who sang like a canary about their own sins in the Eastern District of New York back in 2020, involving bribery in Brazil, Venezuela, and Ecuador. Bribery admissions were also made by Vitol Inc. in 2020 and by Freepoint Commodities and Gunvor S.A. this past December and March, respectively, spanning misdeeds across Brazil, Ecuador, and Mexico.

These tangled webs of deceit also ensnared individuals, including six government officials, and a mix of eight corrupt intermediaries and five trading company employees. The convictions were the crowning glory of a relentless pursuit of justice by U.S. Attorneys across multiple states. Last month, a former Vitol Inc. trader, Javier Aguilar, got pinched on FCPA and money laundering charges after a seven-week trial in New York, as the Justice Department's announcement detailed.

The long arm of the law was aided by the Justice Department's Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section and the FBI’s International Corruption Unit, with operatives from the New York to Miami and Los Angeles Field Offices. The collective effort underlines the Justice Department's firm stance on cracking down foreign corruption and ensuring that international markets are played on a level field.