BP to Pay Penalty to Settle SEC Charges of Securities Fraud during Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

The SEC charged BP p.l.c. ("BP") with misleading investors, while its Deepwater Horizon oil rig was spilling into the Gulf of Mexico, by significantly understating the flow rate in multiple reports filed with the SEC. The SEC alleges that the global oil and gas company headquartered in London made fraudulent public statements indicating a flow rate estimate of 5,000 barrels of oil per day. BP agreed to settle the SEC's charges by paying $525 million. The SEC plans to establish a Fair Fund with the BP penalty to provide harmed investors with compensation for losses they sustained in the fraud.

BP has consented to the entry of a final judgment, ordering it to pay the penalty and permanently restraining and enjoining the company from violating Sections 10(b) and 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5, 12b-20 and 13a-16.

View complaint in full here (links externally to SEC website). See also: Press Release; SEC Director Khuzami Remarks.