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FCPA

This archive displays posts tagged as relevant to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or FCPA. You may also be interested in the following pages:

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March 1, 2016

March 1, 2016 – Telecommunications company Qualcomm Inc. will pay $7.5 million to settle charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by hiring relatives of Chinese government officials involved with the decision of whether to purchase Qualcomm’s mobile technology products.  An SEC investigation also found Qualcomm provided gifts, travel, and entertainment to officials at government-owned telecom companies in China in an attempt to influence their purchasing decisions.  SEC

February 18, 2016

February 18, 2016 – Telecommunications provider VimpelCom Ltd. will pay $795 million in a global settlement with the SEC, DOJ, and Dutch regulators to resolve allegations that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in connection with its business in Uzbekistan.  The SEC alleges that Vimpelcom offered and paid bribes to an Uzbek government official related to the President of Uzbekistan, as the company entered the Uzbek market and sought government-issued licenses, frequencies, channels, and number blocks.  At least $114 million in bribe payments were funneled through an entity affiliated with the Uzbek official.  The SEC’s press release announcing the settlement described VimpelCom’s revenues in Uzbekistan as a result of the improper payments as “massive.”  VimpelCom will pay $167.5 million to the SEC, $230.1 million to the DOJ, and $397.5 million to Dutch regulators.  SEC

February 16, 2016

February 16, 2016 – Massachusetts-based technology company PTC Inc. and its Chinese subsidiaries will pay more than $28 million to settle civil and criminal actions involving violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).  An SEC investigation found that two Chinese subsidiaries of PTC provided non-business related travel and other improper payments to various Chinese government officials in an effort to win business.  Specifically, the SEC’s order found that from 2006 to 2011, PTC’s subsidiaries provided improper travel, gifts, and entertainment totaling nearly $1.5 million to Chinese government officials.  PTC gained nearly $11.8 million in profits from contracts with state-owned entities whose officials received the improper payments.  PTC will pay about $13.6 million to settle the SEC’s charges and its Chinese subsidiaries will pay $14.54 million in a non-prosecution agreement with the DOJ.  The SEC also announced its first deferred prosecution agreement with an individual in an FCPA case.  The SEC agreed to defer for three years, FCPA charges against Yu Kai Yuan, a former employee of one of PTC’s Chinese subsidiaries, based on his significant cooperation with the SEC’s investigation.  SEC

February 18, 2016

Amsterdam-based telecommunications company VimpelCom Limited and its wholly owned Uzbek subsidiary, Unitel LLC, agreed to pay roughly $795 million under settlements with the DOJ, SEC and the Public Prosecution Service of the Netherlands to settle charges of violating the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.  Specifically, the companies admitted making more than $114 million in bribery payments to a government official in Uzbekistan to enable them to enter and continue operating in the Uzbek telecommunications market.  It is one of the largest global FCPA settlements ever and the largest case to date brought under the DOJ's Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative.  Whistleblower Insider

February 16, 2016

Two subsidiaries of Massachusetts software company PTC Inc. agreed to pay a $14.54 million penalty to resolve charges of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by improperly providing recreational travel to Chinese government officials.  According to company admissions, Parametric Technology (Shanghai) Software Company Ltd. and Parametric Technology (Hong Kong) Ltd., through local business partners, arranged and paid for employees of various Chinese state-owned enterprises to travel to the U.S., ostensibly for training at PTC Inc.’s headquarters, but primarily for recreational travel to other parts of the country, including New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Hawaii.  PTC paid more than $1 million through its business partners to fund these trips, while during the same time period, it entered into more than $13 million in contracts with the Chinese state-owned entities.  PTC settled related charges with the SEC by agreeing to pay $11,858,000 in disgorgement plus $1.764 million in prejudgment interest, bringing the company's total government payout to $28 million.  DOJ

DOJ Catch Of The Week -- VimpelCom

Posted  02/22/16
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team This week's Department of Justice "Catch of the Week" goes to Amsterdam-based telecommunications company VimpelCom Limited.  Yesterday, the company and its wholly owned Uzbek subsidiary, Unitel LLC, agreed to pay roughly $795 million under settlements with the DOJ, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Prosecution Service of the Netherlands (Openbaar...

February 1, 2016

Software manufacturer SAP SE will disgorge $3.7 million from profits on its sales of software to the Panamanian Government to settle charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act when procuring business in Panama.  An SEC investigation found that SAP’s deficient internal controls allowed a former SAP executive, Vincente Garcia, to pay $145,000 in bribes to a senior Panamanian government official and offer bribes to two others in exchange for lucrative software contracts.  The bribery scheme involved providing large discounts of up to 82% to SAP’s Panamanian business partner, who used the excessive discounts to create a slush fund out of which it could pay bribes on Garcia’s behalf.  SEC

October 5, 2015

New York-based pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb will pay $14 million to settle SEC charges that its joint venture in China made cash payments and provided other benefits to health care providers at state-owned and state-controlled hospitals in China in exchange for prescription sales.  According to the SEC’s order instituting settled administrative proceedings, between 2009 and 2014, BMS China sales representatives sought to secure and increase business by providing health care providers in China with cash, jewelry, meals, travel, entertainment, and sponsorships for conferences and meetings.  SEC

September 28, 2015

Tokyo-based conglomerate Hitachi, Ltd. will pay a $19 million penalty to settle SEC charges that it inaccurately recorded improper payments to South Africa’s ruling political party in connection with contracts to build two multi-billion dollar power plants in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act.  SEC

August 18, 2015

BNY Mellon will pay $14.8 million to settle charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by providing valuable student internships to family members of foreign government officials affiliated with a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund.  An SEC investigation found that students related to foreign officials were given preferential treatment in that they were not required to meet the normally rigorous criteria of BNY Mellon’s highly competitive internship programs.  This was done to win or retain contracts to manage and service the assets of the sovereign wealth fund the foreign officials were affiliated with.  BNY’s $14.8 million payment includes $8.3 million in disgorgement and a $5 million penalty.  SEC
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