Case File

Smith & Wesson’s Foreign Bribery Settlement

Author
World Peace Foundation
Published on
October 24, 2020
(updated September 12, 2022)
Image
Indonesian police officers in a lineup, Nov. 26, 2015. Image Source: Kepolisian Negara Republik Indonesia .
Indonesian police officers in a lineup, Nov. 26, 2015. Image Source: Kepolisian Negara Republik Indonesia .

Contents

Contents

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Introduction

Introduction

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In 2014, the U.S. firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson agreed to pay USD 2 million in fines to settle an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into foreign bribery conducted by the firm’s international sales team between 2007 and 2010. The investigation established that Smith & Wesson employees made “systemic” use of bribery during this period to establish the 155-year-old company in foreign markets. The company masked these bribes, offered to officials in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, and Turkey, in its accounts as legitimate expenses. In Pakistan, Smith & Wesson was able to win a contract worth USD 210,980, about half of which was profit for the firm. Amaro Goncalves, Smith & Wesson’s vice-president of international sales, was the key decision-maker in these various schemes.

Case Details

Case details

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Seller country
United States
Seller company
Smith & Wesson
Buyer country
Pakistan
Goods category
Small Arms & Light Weapons
Equipment sold
548 pistols
Deal value
USD 210,980
Sum involved in corruption
USD 11,000
Start year
2007
End year
2010
Outcome status
Out of Court Settlement

Actors

Actors

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  • Amaro Goncalves – vice president of international sales at Smith & Wesson. Previously indicted in a sting investigation; not charged in association with the Pakistan case.

Allegations

Summary of Corruption Allegations

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The SEC settlement alleged that Smith & Wesson had paid out or authorized payments it knew would be used to bribe foreign officials in all five countries. In the case of the Pakistani deal, Goncalves authorized a local agent to gift USD 11,000 in guns to police officials, on top of additional cash payments. In Indonesia, the firm made payments to an agent in the knowledge that these would be passed to police officials, disguised as inflated reimbursements for firearms lab testing costs. Smith & Wesson made payments in the Turkish case as well, but only went so far as to authorize payments for the Bangladesh and Nepal deals.

Timeline

Timeline

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2007
  • The deals named in the SEC investigation involved five countries. In Pakistan, Smith & Wesson won a contract to sell 548 pistols to a police department for USD 210,980, but in each of the other cases the contracts were never finalized. In Indonesia, a local agent failed to secure the company a police firearms contract; in Turkey, Smith & Wesson lost a bid to sell handcuffs to the Turkish police while a second contract to provide small arms to the military was cancelled. With regards to mooted deals in Bangladesh and Nepal, little is publicly known.

Outcomes

Investigation Outcomes

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2010
  • After the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation, 22 small arms and policing-equipment salesmen (including Amaro Goncalves, the Smith & Wesson sales executive) were indicted on foreign bribery charges.
2012
  • US DOJ investigative operation collapsed after two unsuccessful trials. According to the jury, prosecutors made number of errors, relied on unreliable witnesses, building a flimsy conspiracy theory.
2014
  • After ending its investigation, the US DOJ informed Smith & Wesson that it would not be bringing criminal charges against the firm, nonetheless, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) civil action continued.
  • JunSmith & Wesson agreed to pay USD 2.0 million to settle the civil charges, including USD 1.9 million in fines, USD 107,852 in disgorged profits, and USD 21,040 in interest

References

References

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