Gunvor to Pay More Than $660 Million to Resolve Bribe Cases (1)

Gunvor Group Ltd., one of the world’s top oil traders, will pay more than $660 million to resolve US and Swiss charges that the company paid bribes to Ecuadorian government officials for contracts.

The penalty, which is one of the biggest ever meted out to a commodity trading company, will be comprised of a $374.5 million fine and forfeiture of another $287.1 million, US federal prosecutors said at a court hearing in Brooklyn, New York, Friday. Of the amount, about $93 million will go toward resolving the Swiss case.

Gunvor’s plea comes as the US Justice Department is conducting ...