TIGO Guatemala Pays Over $118 Million to Close U.S. Bribery Case

Key Takeaways

• $118 Million Resolution: TIGO Guatemala paid more than $118 million to resolve a U.S. investigation into foreign bribery under the FCPA.
• Two-Year DPA: The company entered a deferred prosecution agreement after being charged with conspiracy to violate U.S. anti-bribery laws.
• Years-Long Bribery Scheme: From 2012 to 2018, cash bribes were paid to Guatemalan lawmakers and their security teams, some funded with narcotrafficking proceeds.
• Partial Cooperation Credit: Early disclosure helped, but obstruction by a former shareholder and new evidence later uncovered meant the company did not qualify for full voluntary disclosure benefits.
• Major Compliance Overhaul: Following Millicom’s takeover, TIGO Guatemala implemented extensive remediation and compliance reforms, contributing to a reduced penalty.

Deep Dive

TIGO Guatemala has agreed to pay more than $118 million to resolve a U.S. investigation into a years-long bribery scheme that prosecutors say was baked into the company’s local operations and designed to influence lawmakers in Guatemala.

The settlement, announced Friday, brings to a close a Justice Department probe into Comunicaciones Celulares, which operates as TIGO Guatemala and provides mobile and fixed telecommunications services in the country. The company is wholly owned by Millicom International Cellular, a Luxembourg-incorporated telecom group with its principal place of business in the United States.

Under the resolution, TIGO Guatemala entered into a two-year deferred prosecution agreement tied to a criminal charge filed in federal court in Florida alleging conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act’s anti-bribery provisions.

According to court filings, the misconduct stretched from 2012 to 2018 and revolved around routine, often monthly, cash payments to Guatemalan members of Congress or their security teams. Prosecutors say the payments were made to secure legislative support that benefited TIGO Guatemala. The scheme was orchestrated by the company’s then-Guatemalan shareholder along with other senior figures inside the business.

In one of the more striking details of the case, authorities said some of the cash used for the bribes came from laundered narco-trafficking proceeds.

To resolve the charges, TIGO Guatemala agreed to pay a $60 million criminal penalty and forfeit an additional $58.2 million. The company and its parent, Millicom, also committed to continued cooperation with U.S. prosecutors and to strengthening TIGO Guatemala’s compliance program during the term of the deferred prosecution agreement.

The path to the settlement was not straightforward. Millicom initially disclosed potential misconduct to U.S. authorities in 2015, a step that typically weighs heavily in favor of leniency. But prosecutors said that effort was later undermined when TIGO Guatemala’s former Guatemalan shareholder used its operational control to block access to key information and prevent local personnel from cooperating or implementing remedial measures.

That obstruction contributed to the Justice Department closing the initial phase of its investigation in 2018. The case was revived two years later after prosecutors developed new evidence from outside sources. That evidence, according to the department, revealed a broader and more entrenched scheme than previously understood, including conduct that continued after the initial investigation and involved drug-trafficking funds.

Because of that history, prosecutors concluded that TIGO Guatemala did not qualify for a resolution under the Justice Department’s voluntary self-disclosure policy.

Still, the company ultimately received substantial credit for its cooperation once the investigation reopened. Prosecutors pointed to extensive document production, forensic data collection across multiple countries, employee interviews conducted in the United States, and the proactive identification of evidence previously unknown to the government.

After Millicom acquired full ownership and control of TIGO Guatemala in 2021, the company also undertook a sweeping compliance overhaul. That effort included dismissing personnel involved in the bribery scheme, replacing senior management, tightening third-party controls, expanding transaction monitoring, and introducing continuous data analytics. New policies governing ephemeral messaging were rolled out, and anti-corruption training was expanded across the organization.

Millicom also significantly restructured its global compliance function, increasing dedicated compliance staffing eightfold over the past decade and implementing continuous monitoring and testing of controls.

Taking those steps into account, prosecutors applied a 50 percent reduction from the bottom of the applicable sentencing guidelines. The deferred prosecution agreement will remain in place for two years.

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