Maersk Line Agrees to Pay

Maersk Line has paid the United States of America USD 8.7 million as the result of a civil settlement regarding Maersk’s failure to fully comply with certain terms of its contract with the United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), according to the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton.

“One can clearly see that in contracts of this magnitude, even a small percentage of fraud amounts to significant loss of funds. By this and other ongoing investigations, I am putting these world-wide contractors on notice that my office will not tolerate any fraudulent, false or unwarranted billings to the United States and its client agencies.” said U.S. Attorney Wigginton.

Under Maersk’s contract with USTRANSCOM, the Department of Defense used Maersk services to ship cargo from the United States to military outposts in Afghanistan. Maersk moved cargo by sea to an appropriate port, then by trucks over land, often travelling in remote areas where enemy combatants and criminal entities were active in delivering shipments.

With respect to the shipments at issue in this matter, USTRANSCOM discovered that some claims submitted by Maersk contained suspicious signatures. Further investigation revealed that signatures purporting to verify receipt of shipments in Afghanistan were forged. USTRANSCOM’s review uncovered 277 instances in which such claims were falsely made.

“I would note that to its credit, Maersk was cooperative in the investigation. Aside from these containers, Maersk has successfully delivered thousands of shipments during the war effort. Maersk’s overall conduct reflects a stronger performance and greater diligence than the relatively small amount of non-compliant warzone shipments would suggest, but, as I have noted, even a small amount of overall fraud becomes a huge waste of tax dollars, and I will not tolerate any such waste.” said Wigginton.

Press Release; Image: Maersk Line