Oil firms get U.S. letters in bribery probe: report
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Eleven oil and oil-services companies have received letters from the U.S. government seeking information in a probe into suspected bribery of customs agents in Nigeria and elsewhere, according to a Dow Jones report on the Wall Street Journal's Web site on Tuesday.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is also conducting a civil investigation, the report said.The companies received a July 2 letter from the Justice Department asking them about their relationship with Swiss-based Panalpina World Transport Holding Ltd. , according to the report, which cited unnamed sources.The Journal did not identify the companies.The letter cited concerns about payments that may violate the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits U.S. companies from bribing foreign officials to win or keep business, according to the report.Representatives from the Justice Department and the SEC were not immediately available for comment.Panalpina said earlier on Tuesday it will start an internal inquiry after U.S. authorities requested documents from it in a probe into bribery in Nigeria and other countries.U.S. authorities are reviewing Panalpina's documents related to services in Nigeria, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia for a limited number of customers, it said.(Reporting by Paritosh Bansal)
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