Maersk Line pays multi-million dollar fraud payment 05 November 2014

Signatures purporting to verify receipt of shipments were forged

Maersk Line has paid the United States of America US$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).

Under Maersk’s contract with USTRANSCOM, the Department of Defense used Maersk services to ship cargo from the US 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.

In contracts of this magnitude, even a small percentage of fraud amounts to significant loss of funds.

Maersk was cooperative in the investigation and it was noted that 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.

This matter was investigated by the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.