March 26, 2018

The SEC announced a settled action against Canada-based Kinross Gold Corporation for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations arising from the company’s repeated failure to implement adequate accounting controls of two African subsidiaries. According to the SEC’s order instituting a settled administrative proceeding, Kinross Gold acquired the African subsidiaries in a $7.1 billion transaction in 2010, understanding that the subsidiaries lacked anti-corruption compliance programs and internal accounting controls. It took Kinross Gold almost three years to implement adequate controls, despite multiple internal audits flagging widespread deficiencies. The SEC’s order finds that Kinross Gold violated books and records and internal accounting controls provisions of the federal securities laws. Without admitting or denying the findings, Kinross agreed to a cease-and-desist order, a penalty of $950,000 and undertakings to report on its remedial steps for a period of one year. SEC

Tagged in: FCPA, Securities Fraud,