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Michigan Democrat Gary Peters profited from a French oil company that admitted to bribing Iranian officials for access to their oil fields.
Total S.A., the fourth largest oil company in the world, paid $60 million to an influential Iranian administrator over a nine-year period to gain access to lucrative oil contracts, according to a joint investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice.
“During the course of its unlawful scheme, Total and others corruptly made certain payments and took certain acts for the purpose of inducing the Iranian Official to use his influence to assist Total,” the SEC said in allegations against the company.
The Iranian contracts netted Total $150 million in profits. The company admitted to using fake consulting contracts through a Bermuda-based subsidiary to bribe the official.
The company was charged with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which aims to curb international bribery, as well as numerous federal bookkeeping and securities laws. In 2013, Total agreed to pay nearly $400 million in fines—the largest FCPA fine of the year and the fourth largest in history.
The Peters campaign did not return requests for comment about whether he was aware of the bribery scandal.