Alfred C. Toepfer International Ukraine Ltd., Conspiracy, Illinois 2023

ADM subsidiary pleads guilty to conspiracy, pays $17.8 million in fines.

Chicago, Illinois – In a shocking turn of events, Alfred C. Toepfer International Ukraine Ltd. (ACTI Ukraine), a subsidiary of Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM), pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in the Central District of Illinois.

The charges, which were announced on [current date], reveal that ACTI Ukraine, a trader and seller of commodities based in Ukraine, together with its parent company ADM, paid third-party vendors to pass on bribes to Ukrainian government officials to obtain value-added tax (VAT) refunds.

According to the charges, from 2002 to 2008, ACTI Ukraine and Alfred C. Toepfer International G.m.b.H. (ACTI Hamburg), another subsidiary of ADM, paid roughly $22 million to two vendors, nearly all of which was to be passed on to Ukrainian government officials to obtain over $100 million in VAT refunds.

The benefit to ACTI Ukraine and ACTI Hamburg was roughly $41 million. The company has agreed to pay $17.8 million in criminal fines to resolve the charges.

ADM also entered into a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) with the government, which acknowledges ADM’s timely, voluntary, and thorough disclosure of the conduct, as well as its extensive cooperation with the government.

The NPA requires ADM to implement enhanced compliance programs and internal controls designed to prevent and detect FCPA violations. The company has also agreed to cooperate with the government, to periodically report its compliance efforts, and to continue implementing enhanced compliance programs and internal controls.

ACTI Ukraine pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA and agreed to pay $17.8 million in criminal fines. The total amount of U.S. criminal and regulatory penalties to be paid by ADM and its subsidiary is over $54 million.

The government’s investigation was conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of Illinois, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

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