Construction Firm Agrees to Pay $3.4M In SEC FCPA Deferred Prosecution Agreement

PBSJ Corp., a Florida-based engineering and construction firm, agreed Jan. 21 to pay approximately $3.4 million in a two-year deferred prosecution agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission based on allegations one of its executives violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by offering bribes to foreign officials in 2009 to help win business in Qatar and Africa.

According to the SEC, Walid Hatoum, a PBSJ International Inc. executive who later became president of a PBSJ affiliate, offered to funnel nearly $1.4 million to a local company owned by a Qatari official in return for access to sealed bid information for ...