Newmont Mining discloses FCPA review

One of the world’s biggest gold miners said in a securities filing Wednesday it is investigating some business activities in countries outside the United States.

Colorado-based Newmont Mining said the investigation includes a review of compliance with the requirements of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. It involves the company and its affiliates and contractors.

In March, Newmont entered into a one-year agreement with the SEC to toll statute of limitations relating to the investigation. The company said it more recently entered into a similar tolling agreement with the DOJ.

Tolling agreements extend the time in which prosecutors and regulators can bring enforcement actions.

The statute of limitations for the FCPA is five years. It can be extended at the request of the DOJ for three more years to give the government time to gather foreign evidence.

Under the federal conspiracy statute, 18 U.S.C. § 371, the statute of limitations can reach back to criminal behavior more than five years old if the conspiracy continued at any time during the past five years.

Newmont said it can’t predict the outcome of the investigation. The company hasn’t yet made any provision for it in its financial statements, it said.

Newmont has about 28,000 employees and contractors. It operates in the United States and in Australia, New Zealand, Peru, Indonesia, and Ghana.

Newmont Mining Corporation trades on the NYSE under the symbol NEM.

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Here’s the FCPA disclosure from Newmont’s Form 10-Q (Quarterly Report) filed with the SEC on April 20, 2016:

We occasionally identify or are apprised of information or allegations that certain employees, affiliates, agents or associated persons may have engaged in unlawful conduct for which we might be held responsible. We are conducting an investigation, with the assistance of outside counsel, relating to certain business activities of the Company and its affiliates and contractors in countries outside the United States. The investigation includes a review of compliance with the requirements of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other applicable laws and regulations. The Company is working with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice with respect to the investigation. In March 2016, the Company entered into a one-year agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission tolling the statute of limitations relating to the investigation, and recently entered into a similar agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice. As of the filing of these financial statements, we cannot predict the outcome of these matters. Accordingly, no provision with respect to these matters has been made in our consolidated financial statements.

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Richard L. Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog. He can be contacted here.