A&O Shearman FCPA Digest | In the Matter of Chiquita Brands International, Inc. (2001)<br /> SEC v. Chiquita Brands International, Inc. (D.D.C. 2001)

Source Documents

Case Name
In the Matter of Chiquita Brands International, Inc. (2001)
SEC v. Chiquita Brands International, Inc. (D.D.C. 2001)

Nature of Business
Chiquita Brands International, Inc. (“Chiquita”) is a New Jersey corporation with an indirectly wholly-owned subsidiary, C.I. Bananos de Exportación, S.A. (“Banadex”), in Colombia engaged in the import/export of bananas and operating a port facility.

Enforcement
Settled cease‑and‑desist order against Chiquita for violating the FCPA books-and-records and internal accounting controls provisions. Consent order entered in federal court requiring Chiquita to pay a $100,000 civil penalty.

The administrative order finds that, in breach of Chiquita’s strict policies and procedures and without the knowledge or consent of any Chiquita employee, Banadex’s chief administrative officer authorized Banadex’s agent, CEA, to pay Colombian customs officials to obtain the port facility license renewal and instructed Banadex’s security officer and controller to make the payments from a Banadex account for discretionary expenses. The payments were incorrectly identified in Banadex’s books and records.

The order further finds that Chiquita’s internal audit staff discovered the payments during an audit review, and after conducting an internal review, Chiquita took corrective action, including terminating the responsible Banadex employees and reinforcing internal controls in its Colombian operations. According to the order, Chiquita audit staff had previously made management aware of a number of instances in which Banadex had not provided required documentation regarding discretionary payments.

Citation
In the Matter of Chiquita Brands Int’l., Inc., Admin. Proc. File No. 3 10613 (Oct. 3, 2001);