The U.S. affiliate of Swiss commodities giant Vitol Inc. has admitted to bribing Brazilian, Ecuadorian and Mexican officials over the course of more than a decade in exchange for illicit competitive advantages.

Vitol

Vitol agreed to pay $135 million to resolve the U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation into the schemes to pay off government officials in the three Latin American nations. The bribes started in 2005 and continued until July of this year.

“Vitol paid bribes to government officials in Brazil, Ecuador and Mexico to win lucrative business contracts and obtain competitive advantages to which they were not fairly entitled,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Seth D. DuCharme of the Eastern District of New York.

Between 2005 and 2014, Vitol and its co-conspirators paid...