The US Department of Justice said in March 2024 that Gunvor S.A. pleaded guilty to an FCPA conspiracy over bribes to Ecuadorian officials and would pay over US$661 million.

About: Gunvor SA
Claim made by: US Department of Justice, regulator statement
Published: 1 March 2024
Original: Commodities Trading Company Will Pay Over $661M to Resolve Foreign Bribery Case
Evidence score: 94 How it was scored
Last reviewed: 25 October 2026

Why this label

The US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York says Gunvor pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and was sentenced by Judge Eric N. Vitaliano^S2. The DOJ release gives a criminal penalty of US$374,560,071 and forfeiture of US$287,138,444^S3. The plea agreement filed in the case records the same penalty and forfeiture and a one-count information under 18 U.S.C. 371^S5. The releases say that between 2012 and 2020 Gunvor and co-conspirators paid more than US$97 million to intermediaries. The sentence allows credits for amounts paid to Swiss and Ecuadorian authorities. A guilty plea with sentence is an admission in court, so the record supports the claim.

Current procedural position

Guilty plea and sentence in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York on 1 March 2024, docket 24-CR-85 (ENV)^S2. Plea agreement filed as Case 1:24-cr-00085-ENV^S5.

Record supporting the assessment

pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)

^S2 Tier A US Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York, Gunvor S.A. Pleads Guilty to Scheme to Bribe Ecuadorian Officials and Ordered to Pay Over $600 Million in Criminal Penalties, 1 March 2024

criminal monetary penalty of $374,560,071

^S3 Tier A US Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, Commodities Trading Company Will Pay Over $661M to Resolve Foreign Bribery Case, 1 March 2024

between 2012 and 2020, Gunvor and its co-conspirators paid more than $97 million to intermediaries

agrees to accept a monetary penalty against Company totaling $374,560,071 and forfeiture totaling $287,138,444

^S5 Tier A US Department of Justice (filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York), Plea Agreement, 1 March 2024

Conflicting or limiting record

No record located that conflicts with this assessment.

Evidence score: 94 of 100

The score grades how well the record establishes this assessment. It is not a score of Gunvor SA. Score = source authority + directness + corroboration + procedural accuracy + currency + reproducibility.

Component	Points	Max	Reason
Source authorityIs the source competent to establish the proposition?	29	30	DOJ and US Attorney releases on a plea and sentence are competent records.
DirectnessDoes the source state the proposition or only discuss adjacent facts?	19	20	The releases state the plea, sentence and amounts.
CorroborationDo independent records support the same material point?	13	15	Two DOJ releases, the plea agreement and a press report agree.
Procedural accuracyDoes the record settle the procedural state the claim describes?	15	15	Plea and sentence are settled.
CurrencyHas the record been checked against later developments?	8	10	We found no later record changing the sentence.
ReproducibilityCan a reader locate the passage and repeat the assessment?	10	10	The releases and the plea agreement are public on the DOJ site.
Total	94	100

Timeline

2012Start of the payment period described by the DOJ^S2
1 March 2024Gunvor pleads guilty and is sentenced in Brooklyn^S2^S3
1 March 2024Plea agreement filed in Case 1:24-cr-00085-ENV^S5

Related cases

United States v. Gunvor S.A.US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Criminal. 24-CR-85 (ENV), shown on the plea agreement as 1:24-cr-00085-ENV.Stage: Sentenced
- 1 March 2024 Guilty plea and sentence to US$374,560,071 penalty and US$287,138,444 forfeiture^S2^S3

Responses

Gunvor, 4 March 2024: Gunvor's chairman said corruption has no place in the company and will never be tolerated.^S4

Revision history

25 October 2026 Assessment first published with label Supported.

Have a record that changes this assessment? See corrections and responses.

Sources

S2Tier A Gunvor S.A. Pleads Guilty to Scheme to Bribe Ecuadorian Officials and Ordered to Pay Over $600 Million in Criminal PenaltiesUS Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York. Regulator press release. 1 March 2024.Supports the plea, the sentence, the docket number and the factors in sentencing. It is not the plea agreement itself.Link working, checked 25 October 2026
S3Tier A Commodities Trading Company Will Pay Over $661M to Resolve Foreign Bribery CaseUS Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs. Regulator press release. 1 March 2024.Supports the amounts, the Swiss parallel payment and the 2019 admission on controls. It does not detail the Swiss 2024 order.Link working, checked 25 October 2026
S5Tier A Plea AgreementUS Department of Justice (filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York). Plea agreement. 1 March 2024.The plea agreement and board resolution in Case 1:24-cr-00085-ENV. It records the one-count information under 18 U.S.C. 371 and the penalty and forfeiture amounts.Link working, checked 25 October 2026
S4Tier C Gunvor Pays More Than $660M in U.S. and Switzerland Settling Bribery CasesThe Maritime Executive. Press report. 4 March 2024.Reports the chairman's statement. Its Swiss figure of about US$93 million differs from the DOJ figure of about US$98 million.Link working, checked 25 October 2026

Other claims about Gunvor SA

Supported87
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland said in October 2019 that Gunvor was held criminally liable over bribery of public officials in the Republic of Congo and Ivory Coast and must pay almost CHF 94 million.
Regulator statement, 17 October 20193 records citedBribery
Opinion52
Gunvor's chairman said in March 2024 that the company upholds an industry-leading compliance programme and that corruption has no place in the company.
Company statement, 4 March 20243 records citedBribery