J&F Investimentos, the parent company of JBS USA, agreed to pay $285 million in fines to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) for violating anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
According to the DOJ, J&F paid bribes to Brazilian officials between 2005 and 2017 to ensure Brazilian state-owned banks finance the expansion of their U.S. operations. The expansion included the purchase of a majority stake in the chicken processor, Pilgrim’s Pride, and the 2007 acquisition of beef and pork processor, Swift & Co.
Pilgrim’s Pride just announced it is pleading guilty to price-fixing charges and will pay a fine of $110.5 million. The guilty plea makes it the first company to plead guilty in the case to inflate prices by reducing competition between 2012 and early 2019.
