Industrial conglomerate SHV has reached a preliminary out of court settlement with the public prosecution department to head off legal action focusing on bribery and accounting fraud by several subsidiaries abroad, the Financieele Dagblad said on Friday.

The company, owned by the Fentener van Vlissingen family, has agreed to pay millions of euros, the FD said, but it is unclear how high the settlement is. The paper bases its claims on sources close to the agreement.

A special committee is now deciding if the settlement has been put together properly and if the processes were transparent, the paper said. If finalised, the size of the settlement will be made public, the sources told the FD.

Neither the public prosecution department or SHV would comment on the report, the paper said.

The NRC reported in 2018 that fraud squad officials were looking into SHV companies Econosto (technical parts) and Mammoet (heavy transport) in relation to bribery in the Middle East.

SHV has since closed down Econosto Mideast and sold Mammoet Salvage, while sacking the workers who were involved. The company has also expanded its internal audit division and set up ethics and compliance framework, the FD said.