WASHINGTON (Reuters) – PetroChina International America, a unit of PetroChina, has agreed to pay a fine and forfeiture totaling $14.5 million for violations of U.S. export laws, the Justice Department said on Tuesday.
Authorities discovered evidence that the company had reported inaccurate information in an electronic database that exporters use to declare international exports from the U.S., the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas said in a news release.
PetroChina International America “misclassified more than $32 million of ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel as mineral oil blend for certain export transactions to Mexico that occurred in 2019 and 2020,” the office said.
The company has fully cooperated with the investigation into the violations and has enhanced its compliance program, the office said.
PetroChina International America did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
