The Australian Federal Police (AFP) has finalised a foreign bribery investigation into engineering firm SMEC International Pty Ltd (SMEC), following an agreement for the company to pay $9 million under Australia’s proceeds-of-crime laws.
The settlement, reached under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth), does not involve any admission of liability by SMEC.
The AFP investigation, conducted as part of Operation Amorce, examined alleged conduct involving SMEC across several jurisdictions, including Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
The operation began in 2013, with the AFP executing search warrants in 2015 and 2018.
After considering the circumstances of the case and relevant public interest factors, AFP investigators decided not to refer SMEC to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP).
The decision follows the principles outlined in the AFP’s recently published guidance, Optimal investigation outcomes for self-reporting and cooperating corporations, which explains how corporate self-reporting, cooperation and remedial action may be considered when determining investigation outcomes.
The AFP said SMEC had self-reported further conduct by individuals following the execution of search warrants and internal investigations commissioned by the company. The additional conduct was subsequently investigated by the AFP.
Other factors considered included SMEC’s cooperation with investigators, its voluntary production of substantial evidential material, the provision of detailed internal investigation reports and the waiver of legal professional privilege over certain relevant materials.
The AFP also noted that key individuals allegedly involved in the conduct were no longer with the company and that SMEC had strengthened its anti-bribery and compliance procedures.
The age of the alleged conduct and the time elapsed since the investigation began were also taken into account.
The AFP-led Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce (CACT) pursued civil recovery under the proceeds-of-crime legislation, resulting in a settlement concerning alleged benefits that may have arisen from the investigated conduct.
In addition to the $9 million pecuniary penalty, SMEC agreed to contribute towards the AFP’s external legal costs associated with the investigation and make a voluntary contribution to an anti-corruption non-governmental organisation.
AFP Commander Criminal Assets, Fraud and Corruption Andrea Quinn said the agency remained committed to holding companies accountable for conduct presenting a foreign bribery risk.
“The AFP – through Taskforce Solaris and the Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce – is using all available legal avenues to deliver strong enforcement outcomes,” Commander Quinn said.
“This result demonstrates significant financial consequences will follow foreign bribery investigations, regardless of whether a matter proceeds to prosecution.”
Quinn said companies that identified potential misconduct and engaged with the AFP early, transparently and constructively were in a materially different position from those that did not.
AFP General Counsel, Criminal Assets Litigation – South, Andrew Hanger said the CACT would ensure parties could not retain benefits potentially linked to unlawful conduct.
He said civil asset recovery powers enabled authorities to pursue financial outcomes reflecting the potential value of those benefits, reinforcing the objectives of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to undermine the profitability of unlawful conduct.
Hanger added that non-conviction-based asset recovery mechanisms provided another means of addressing the financial incentives associated with criminal activity.
The AFP’s corporate guidance is intended to promote transparency and encourage companies to engage constructively with law enforcement when potential foreign bribery or related misconduct is identified.
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