SÃO PAULO — Global food company BRF S.A. announced in late December that it signed a leniency agreement with Brazilian authorities regarding two separate alleged corruption cases. 

The company made a deal with Controladoria-Geral da União (CGU) and Advocacia Geral da União (AGU) for approximately 584 million reais ($111 million) that would be paid in five annual installments starting June 30, 2023. 

CGU stated that BRF began cooperating with the two federal organizations in 2018 to mitigate the sanctions.

BRF said in the last few years it carried out an internal investigation along with external independent advisors to identify past practices carried out by company employees. 

“The investigation process resulted, during the course of past years, in a series of administrative measures, including the dismissal of former employees involved in the identified illegal practices; improvement of the company corporate governance and integrity system; voluntary cooperation with Brazilian and foreign authorities, and the negotiation of the agreement,” the company said in a statement.

BRF added that terms of the agreement include the company adopting measures to prevent the practices from happening again.

The deal was the result of ongoing investigations by the Federal Police in Brazil named Operation Carne Fraca (Operation Weak Flesh) and Operation Trapaça (Cheating), where meat companies were accused of paying bribes to food safety inspectors. 

In March 2017, the Federal Police in Brazil raided the facilities of dozens of meatpackers, including JBS S.A. and BRF S.A., as part of a two-year criminal investigation that found at least 40 cases of federal regulators accepting bribes in exchange for loosening regulations, clearing the way for food processors to distribute adulterated food products to the marketplace.