UPDATE:Eni, Snamprogetti Settle Bribery Charges With US SEC, DOJ

Italian oil-and-gas company Eni SpA (E, ENI.MI) and its former Dutch unit Snamprogetti Netherlands BV will pay a total $365 million to settle charges by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Justice Department in an alleged bribery scheme in which more than $180 million in bribes were funneled to Nigerian government officials in an effort to obtain contracts to build a liquefied-natural gas plant.

Eni and Snamprogetti consented to the settlement and court orders to jointly pay $125 million to settle the charges.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department filed criminal charges against Snamprogetti, which led to the company agreeing to pay $240 million in criminal penalties to avoid prosecution.

The U.S. Justice Department said Wednesday it would drop charges in two years if Snamprogetti, its current parent company Saipem SpA (SPM.MI), and its former owner Eni, abide by agreed-upon terms.

Snamprogetti was part of a joint venture that received contracts to build liquefied natural gas facilities in Nigeria.

"The monetary penalties and enforcement actions that have resulted from this investigation should send a clear message to companies and their employees that using foreign bribery as a means of winning contracts abroad will be punished," a Justice Department Assistant Attorney General, Mythili Raman, said in a statement.

Since the allegations, the companies have made "substantial enhancements" to their anti-corruption compliance programs, according to a statement on Saipem SpA's website.

"Saipem SpA and its subsidiaries are committed to continuous improvements to their internal compliance program and policies," the statement read.

The settlement brings the total paid to settle cases related to the bribery scheme to more than $1.28 billion from a joint venture of companies that also included Technip SA (TKPPY, TEC.FR), KBR Inc. (KBR) and its former parent Halliburton Co. (HAL).

Last month, Technip SA agreed to pay $240 million to settle a similar SEC complaint.

Eni and Snamprogetti join a growing list of foreign companies hit with substantial fines for allegedly violating antibribery laws in third-world countries.

-By Darrell A. Hughes and Tess Stynes, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6684; [e-mail]