The SEC issued SQM a subpoena in November 2023 under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, covering the Chilean miner’s operations, compliance program, and transactions with third parties. Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A., a chemical and mining company with American Depository Shares listed on the NYSE, has faced FCPA scrutiny before.
In 2017, SQM resolved a $30.5 million FCPA enforcement action tied to alleged conduct with Chilean officials. The DOJ charged the company via a criminal information with violating the FCPA’s books and records and internal controls provisions, resolved through a deferred prosecution agreement carrying a $15.5 million criminal penalty. The SEC simultaneously issued an administrative order finding the same statutory violations, adding a $15 million civil penalty.
Now the agency is back. The SEC investigation paused and then resumed in the third quarter of 2025, following the end of a US government-ordered pause. SQM hired US and Chilean lawyers, accountants, and forensic experts and launched an internal investigation overseen by its Directors’ Committee. The company reviewed a large volume of documents and interviewed employees, officers, directors, and third parties.
The result: SQM says it hasn’t found any payments it believes violate the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions or other relevant anti-bribery statutes. The company also says it has cooperated throughout, providing documents and making employees available for testimony.
The SEC hasn’t reached a public conclusion. With the probe resumed and SQM’s self-assessment in hand, no hearing date or response deadline has been publicly disclosed.
James Okafor