GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A., Foreign Bribery, Maryland 2023

A hard-hitting crime journalist for Grimy Times has uncovered that GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A., an airline headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil, will pay more than $41 million to resolve parallel bribery investigations by criminal and civil authorities in the United States and Brazil.

According to court documents, GOL entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement with the Federal authorities in connection with a criminal information filed in the District of Maryland charging the company with conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery and books and records provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

Pursuant to the deferred prosecution agreement, GOL will pay a criminal penalty of $17 million. The authorities have agreed to credit up to $1.7 million of that criminal penalty against an approximately $3.4 million fine the company has agreed to pay to authorities in Brazil in connection with related proceedings to resolve an investigation by the Controladoria-Geral da União (CGU) and the Advocacia-Geral de União (Attorney General’s Office). In addition, GOL will give up approximately $24.5 million over two years as part of the resolution of a parallel investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

“GOL paid millions of dollars in bribes to foreign officials in Brazil in exchange for the passage of legislation that was beneficial to the airline,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Federal authorities. “The company entered into fraudulent contracts with third-party vendors for the purpose of generating and concealing the funds necessary to perpetrate this criminal conduct, and then falsely recorded the sham payments in their own books. Today’s resolution demonstrates the authorities’ commitment to holding accountable companies that corrupt the functions of government for their own financial gain.”

According to the company’s admissions and court documents, between 2012 and 2013, GOL conspired to offer and pay approximately $3.8 million in bribes to foreign officials in Brazil. Specifically, GOL caused multiple bribe payments to be made to various officials in Brazil to secure the passage of two pieces of legislation favorable to GOL.

The government reached this resolution with GOL after the company agreed to cooperate with the authorities in any ongoing or future criminal investigations relating to this conduct. In addition, GOL agreed to enhance its compliance program and provide reports to the authorities regarding remediation and the implementation of compliance measures for the term of the deferred prosecution agreement.