U.S. fines oil giant Total $398 million over Iran oil bribes

French oil company Total agreed Wednesday to pay 398.2 million U.S. dollars to settle criminal and civil charges brought by the U.S. government over the company’s alleged payments of bribes to Iranian officials in exchange for oil and gas contracts.

The U.S. Department of Justice fined the French oil company with 245.2 million dollars on charges of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act that bans U.S. and multinational corporations with significant presence in the U.S. from bribing foreign officials in order to secure better business conditions. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also slapped Total with a fine of 153 million dollars on profits the company earned from transactions with Iran. The French company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

According to international news agency Agence French-Presse, the U.S. Justice Department said that Total paid 60 million dollars in bribes via intermediaries to Iranian government officials between 1995 and 2004 to obtain the rights to develop several oil and gas fields in Iran. Total paid around $16 million to a broker linked with an Iranian official via a fake consulting agreement. Between 1997 and 2004, the French company paid another 44 million dollars in bribes over 12 times to win rights to develop part of the South Pars, the world’s largest gas field. The department said, “Total mischaracterized the unlawful payments as ‘business development expenses’ when they were, in fact, bribes designed to corruptly influence a foreign official.”

“These settlements... allow us to put an end to this investigation,” said Patrick de la Chevardiere, Total’s chief financial officer. “We look forward to continuing our work and in demonstrating our strong commitment to ensuring ethical and legal compliance with the laws around the world.”

Although Total settled the U.S. case by agreeing to pay large amounts of fines in order to avoid lawsuits, the company faces legal charges in its own country.

The French prosecution said Wednesday that it plans to seek charges of corruption and misuse of funds against Total and Chief Executive Officer Christophe de Margerie. Prosecutors said that the CEO is facing charges of having bribed foreign officials and embezzled corporate funds in the process of obtaining business rights in Iran between 1999 and 2000.