SEC ANNOUNCES FORMER SOFTWARE EXEC TO SETTLE BRIBERY CHARGES

FROM:  U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 

08/12/2015 03:45 PM EDT

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that a former executive at a worldwide software manufacturer has agreed to settle charges that he violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by bribing Panamanian government officials through an intermediary to procure software license sales.

An SEC investigation found that Vicente E. Garcia, the former vice president of global and strategic accounts for SAP SE, orchestrated a scheme to pay $145,000 in bribes to one government official and promised to pay two others in order to obtain four contracts to sell SAP software to the Panamanian government.  He essentially caused SAP, which is headquartered in Germany and executes most of its sales through a network of worldwide corporate partners, to sell software to a partner in Panama at discounts of up to 82 percent.  The excessive discounts enabled the partner to create a slush fund from its excessive earnings on the other end of the sales and tap that money to pay the bribes to Panamanian government officials so SAP could sell the software.  Garcia, who lives in Miami, also received kickbacks from the slush fund into his bank account.

In a parallel action, the U.S. Department of Justice today announced a criminal action against Garcia.

“Garcia attempted to avoid detection by arranging large, illegitimate discounts to a corporate partner in order to generate a cash pot to bribe government officials and win business for SAP,” said Kara Brockmeyer, Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s FCPA Unit.

According to the SEC’s order instituting a settled administrative proceeding:

The scheme lasted from 2009 to 2013.

Garcia circumvented SAP’s internal controls by submitting various approval forms to SAP that falsified the reasons for the excessive discounts to the local partner.

Garcia used his SAP e-mail account and his personal e-mail account to communicate details of the bribery scheme and even identify the government officials and intended monetary amounts.

In an e-mail to one government official, Garcia attached a letter on SAP letterhead detailing fictional meetings in Mexico as requested by the official in order to justify a trip there on false pretenses.  The next day, Garcia sent a subsequent e-mail asking, “Any news …?  Was the document OK for him?  Can you ask him to finalize a deal for us in Feb-March, I need between $5 and $10 million.”

The SEC’s order finds that Garcia violated the anti-bribery and internal controls provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  Garcia consented to the entry of the cease-and-desist order and agreed to pay disgorgement of $85,965, which is the total amount of kickbacks he received, plus prejudgment interest of $6,430 for a total of $92,395.

The SEC’s continuing investigation is being conducted by Ansu Banerjee and supervised by Alka Patel.  The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

ADM CHARGED WITH FOREIGN CORRUPT PRACTICES VIOLATIONS

FROM:  SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION  
Charges Archer-Daniels-Midland Company with FCPA Violations

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged global food processor Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (ADM) for failing to prevent illicit payments made by foreign subsidiaries to Ukrainian government officials in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

An SEC investigation found that ADM's subsidiaries in Germany and Ukraine paid $21 million in bribes through intermediaries to secure the release of value-added tax (VAT) refunds. The payments were then concealed by improperly recording the transactions in accounting records as insurance premiums and other purported business expenses. ADM had insufficient anti-bribery compliance controls and made approximately $33 million in illegal profits as a result of the bribery by its subsidiaries.

ADM, which is based in Decatur, Ill., has agreed to pay more than $36 million to settle the SEC's charges. In a parallel action, the U.S. Department of Justice today announced a non-prosecution agreement with ADM and criminal charges against an ADM subsidiary that has agreed to pay $17.8 million in criminal fines.

According to the SEC's complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, the bribery occurred from 2002 to 2008. Ukraine imposed a 20 percent VAT on goods purchased in its country. If the goods were exported, the exporter could apply for a refund of the VAT already paid to the government on those goods. However, at times the Ukrainian government delayed paying VAT refunds it owed or did not make any refund payments at all. On these occasions, the outstanding amount of VAT refunds owed to ADM's Ukraine affiliate reached as high as $46 million.

The SEC alleges that in order to obtain the VAT refunds that the Ukraine government was withholding, ADM's subsidiaries in Germany and Ukraine devised several schemes to bribe Ukraine government officials to release the money. The bribes paid were generally 18 to 20 percent of the corresponding VAT refunds. For example, the subsidiaries artificially inflated commodities contracts with a Ukrainian shipping company to provide bribe payments to government officials. In another scheme, the subsidiaries created phony insurance contracts with an insurance company that included false premiums passed on to Ukraine government officials. The misconduct went unchecked by ADM for several years because of its deficient and decentralized system of FCPA oversight over subsidiaries in Germany and Ukraine.

The SEC's complaint charges ADM with violating Sections 13(b)(2)(A) and 13(b)(2)(B) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. ADM consented to the entry of a final judgment ordering the company to pay disgorgement of $33,342,012 plus prejudgment interest of $3,125,354. The final judgment also permanently enjoins ADM from violating those sections of the Exchange Act, and requires the company to report on its FCPA compliance efforts for a three-year period. The settlement is subject to court approval. The SEC took into account ADM's cooperation and significant remedial measures, including self-reporting the matter, implementing a comprehensive new compliance program throughout its operations, and terminating employees involved in the misconduct.

The SEC's investigation was conducted by Nicholas A. Brady and supervised by Moira T. Roberts and Anita B. Bandy. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Justice Department's Fraud Section and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

ALCATEL PAYS $137 MILLION IN FINES TO SETTLE BRIBERY CHARGES

Paying bribes is the antithesis of capitalism. It allows very large established and often wasteful companies with incompetent management to out-bid smaller streamlined organizations that will get a job done faster, more economically and with better quality than their larger counterparts.

The following case excerpt was published on the SEC web site. It alleges that a major U.S. corporation violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by paying off foreign officials. Please take a look at the details of this case:

"The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a settled enforcement action on December 27, 2010, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida to resolve charges that Alcatel-Lucent, S.A. (Alcatel) violated the anti-bribery, books and records, and internal controls provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by paying bribes to foreign government officials to obtain or retain business in Latin America and Asia.

Alcatel, the provider of telecommunications equipment and services, has offered to pay a total of $137.372 million in disgorgement and fines, including $45.372 million in disgorgement to the SEC. In a related action, Alcatel will pay a $92 million criminal fine to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The SEC’s complaint, filed in the Southern District of Florida, alleges that Alcatel’s bribes went to government officials in Costa Rica, Honduras, Malaysia, and Taiwan between December 2001 and June 2006. An Alcatel subsidiary provided at least $14.5 million to consulting firms through sham consulting agreements for use in the bribery scheme in Costa Rica. Various high-level government officials in Costa Rica received at least $7 million of the $14.5 million to ensure Alcatel obtained or retained three contracts to provide telephone services in Costa Rica.

The SEC alleges that the same Alcatel subsidiary bribed officials in the government of Honduras to obtain or retain five telecommunications contracts. Another Alcatel subsidiary made bribery payments to Malaysian government officials in order to procure a telecommunications contract. An Alcatel subsidiary also made illegal payments to various officials in the government of Taiwan to win a contract to supply railway axle counters to the Taiwan Railway Administration.

According to the SEC’s complaint, all of the bribery payments were undocumented or improperly recorded as consulting fees in the books of Alcatel’s subsidiaries and then consolidated into Alcatel’s financial statements. The leaders of several Alcatel subsidiaries and geographical regions, including some who reported directly to Alcatel’s executive committee, either knew or were severely reckless in not knowing about the misconduct.

The SEC’s complaint charges that Alcatel violated Section 30A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by making illicit payments to foreign government officials, through its subsidiaries and agents, in order to obtain or retain business. Alcatel violated Section 13(b)(2)(B) of the Exchange Act by failing to have adequate internal controls to detect and prevent the payments. Alcatel violated Section 13(b)(2)(A) of the Exchange Act by improperly recording the payments in its books and records. Alcatel violated Section 13(b)(5) of the Exchange Act when its subsidiaries knowingly failed to implement a system of internal controls and knowingly falsified their books and records to camouflage bribes as consulting payments. Without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations, Alcatel has consented to a court order permanently enjoining it from future violations of these statutory provisions; ordering the company to pay $45.372 million in disgorgement of wrongfully obtained profits, and ordering it to comply with certain undertakings, including an independent monitor for a three year term.

The SEC acknowledges the assistance of the U.S. Department of Justice, Fraud Section; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Office of the Attorney General in Costa Rica; the Fiscalía de Delitos Económicos, Corrupción y Tributarios in Costa Rica; and the Service Central de Prévention de la Corruption in France."

The current SEC seems to have done well in recovering monies in this case. Alleged crimes like this seldom see the light of day and it is good the SEC published it on their web page.

OIL SERVICE, FREIGHT COS. PAY FINES FOR ALLEGED BRIBES

The following excerpt from the SEC web site detaisl the settlement by several companies accused of bribing foreign officials:

"SEC Charges Seven Oil Services and Freight Forwarding Companies for Widespread Bribery of Customs Officials
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2010-214
Washington, D.C., Nov. 4, 2010 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced sweeping settlements with global freight forwarding company Panalpina, Inc. and six other companies in the oil services industry that violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by paying millions of dollars in bribes to foreign officials to receive preferential treatment and improper benefits during the customs process.

SEC Complaints:
Panalpina, Inc.
Pride International, Inc.
Tidewater Inc.
Transocean, Inc.
GlobalSantaFe Corp.
Noble Corporation
SEC Administrative Proceeding:
Royal Dutch Shell plc

The SEC alleges that the companies bribed customs officials in more than 10 countries in exchange for such perks as avoiding applicable customs duties on imported goods, expediting the importation of goods and equipment, extending drilling contracts, and lowering tax assessments. The companies also paid bribes to obtain false documentation related to temporary import permits for oil drilling rigs, and enable the release of drilling rigs and other equipment from customs officials.

The SEC's cases were coordinated with the U.S. Department of Justice's Fraud Section, and the sanctions to be paid by the companies under the settlements total $236.5 million. This is the first sweep of a particular industrial sector in order to crack down on public companies and third parties who are paying bribes abroad.

"Bribing customs officials is not only illegal but also bad for business, as the coordinated efforts of law enforcement increase the risk of detection every day," said Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement. "These companies resorted to lucrative arrangements behind the scenes to obtain phony paperwork and special favors, and they landed themselves squarely in investigators' crosshairs."

Cheryl J. Scarboro, Chief of the SEC's Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Unit, added, "This investigation was the culmination of proactive work by the SEC and DOJ after detecting widespread corruption in the oil services industry. The FCPA Unit will continue to focus on industry-wide sweeps, and no industry is immune from investigation."

Without admitting or denying the allegations, the companies agreed to settle the SEC's charges against them by paying approximately $80 million in disgorgement, interest, and penalties. The companies agreed to pay fines of $156.5 million to settle the criminal proceedings with DOJ.

SEC charges against six companies were filed in federal court, and one company was charged in an SEC administrative proceeding. Among the SEC's allegations:

Panalpina, Inc. — A U.S. subsidiary of the Swiss freight forwarding giant Panalpina World Transport (Holding) Ltd. (PWT), Panalpina is charged with paying bribes to customs officials around the world from 2002 to 2007 on behalf of its customers, some of whom are included in these settlements. Panalpina bribed customs officials in Nigeria, Angola, Brazil, Russia and Kazakhstan to enable importation of goods into those countries and the provision of logistics services. The bribes were often authorized by Panalpina's customers and then inaccurately described in customer invoices as "local processing" or "special intervention" or "special handling" fees.

Panalpina agreed to an injunction and will pay disgorgement of $11,329,369 in the SEC case.
PWT and Panalpina agreed to pay a criminal fine of $70.56 million.
Pride International, Inc. — One of the world's largest offshore drilling companies, Pride and its subsidiaries paid approximately $2 million to foreign officials in eight countries from 2001 to 2006 in exchange for various benefits related to oil services. For example, Pride's former country manager in Venezuela authorized bribes of approximately $384,000 to a state-owned oil company official to secure extensions of drilling contracts, and a French subsidiary of Pride paid $500,000 in bribes intended for a judge to influence customs litigation relating to the importation of a drilling rig.

Pride agreed to an injunction and will pay disgorgement and prejudgment interest of $23,529,718 in the SEC case.
Pride and subsidiary Pride Forasol agreed to pay a criminal fine of $32.625 million.
Tidewater Inc. — The New Orleans-based shipping company through a subsidiary reimbursed approximately $1.6 million to its customs broker in Nigeria from 2002 to 2007 so the broker could make improper payments to Nigerian customs officials and induce them to disregard regulatory requirements related to the importation of Tidewater's vessels.

Tidewater agreed to an injunction and will pay $8,104,362 in disgorgement and a $217,000 penalty.
Tidewater Marine International agreed to pay a criminal fine of $7.35 million.
Transocean, Inc. — An international provider of offshore drilling services to oil companies throughout the world, Transocean made illicit payments from at least 2002 to 2007 through its customs agents to Nigerian government officials in order to extend the temporary importation status of its drilling rigs. Bribes also were paid to obtain false paperwork associated with its drilling rigs and obtain inward clearance authorizations for its rigs and a bond registration.

Transocean agreed to an injunction and will pay disgorgement and prejudgment interest of $7,265,080.
Transocean Ltd. and Transocean Inc. agreed to pay a criminal fine of $13.44 million.
GlobalSantaFe Corp. (GSF) A provider of offshore drilling services GSF made illegal payments through its customs brokers from approximately 2002 to 2007 to officials of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) to secure documentation showing that its rigs had left Nigerian waters. The rigs had in fact never moved. GSF also made other payments to government officials in Gabon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea.

GSF agreed to an injunction and will pay disgorgement of $3,758,165 and a penalty of $2.1 million.
Noble Corporation — An offshore drilling services provider, Noble authorized payments by its Nigerian subsidiary to its custom agent to obtain false documentation from NCS officials to show export and re-import of its drilling rigs into Nigerian waters. From 2003 to 2007, Noble obtained eight temporary import permits with false documentation.

Noble agreed to an injunction and will pay disgorgement and prejudgment interest of $5,576,998.
Noble agreed to pay a criminal fine of $2.59 million.
Royal Dutch Shell plc — An oil company headquartered in the Netherlands, Shell and its indirect subsidiary called Shell International Exploration and Production, Inc. (SIEP) violated the FCPA by using a customs broker to make payments from 2002 to 2005 to officials at NCS to obtain preferential customs treatment related to a project in Nigeria.

SIEP and Shell agreed to a cease-and-desist order and will pay disgorgement and prejudgment interest of $18,149,459.
Shell Nigerian Exploration and Production Co. Ltd. will pay a criminal fine of $30 million. "

It should be noted that the SEC acknowledged that the Department of Justice and the FBI helped with the investigation.

The bribing of government officials and politicians is a problem in many countries of the world including the United States. It is hard to say whether the people in government or the people in business should be given the worse punishments. In America prosecuting for giving or receiving bribes in this country is rare because so many laws have been passed and court cases decided which pretty much legalizes bribery. Our politicians might be corrupt but they are not stupid. Bribery is looked upon as a victimless crime in the United States.

Of course the victims of bribery are obvious. First of all the citizens do not have a government operating in their best interest. Secondly, businesses that give bribes undermine the businesses of honest entrepreneurs who refuse to give payola to people in government. Bribery simply undermines the workings of capitalism and should simply be treated as a crime.

SEC CHARGES ABB Ltd FOR BRIBERY

Bribery is a common business practice in many parts of the world. The United States has a law called the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act which prohibits U.S. businesses from paying bribes to foreign officials.
The following is an excerpt from the SEC web page. It describes in detail the transactions that got ABB Ltd. in trouble.

“Recently the SEC charged ABB Ltd. With giving bribes to Mexican officials and to officials in IRAQ during the Oil for Food program. ABB agreed to pay nearly $40 dollars to settle the SEC charges and another $19 million in penalties to settle charges brought by the Department of Justice Washington, D.C., Sept. 29, 2010 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged ABB Ltd with violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for using subsidiaries to pay bribes to Mexican officials to obtain business with government-owned power companies, and to pay kickbacks to Iraq to obtain contracts under the U.N. Oil for Food Program.

The SEC alleges that ABB's subsidiaries made at least $2.7 million in illicit payments in these schemes to obtain contracts that generated more than $100 million in revenues for ABB, a Swiss corporation that provides power and automation products and services worldwide.

ABB has agreed to pay more than $39.3 million to settle the SEC's charges.
"This investigation uncovered millions of dollars in bribes paid or promised to officials at Mexico's largest power company," said Scott W. Friestad, Associate Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement. "As the sanctions in this case demonstrate, there are significant consequences for public companies that fail to implement strong compliance programs and prevent corrupt payments to government officials.

Cheryl J. Scarboro, Chief of the SEC's Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Unit, added, "ABB's violations involved conduct at a U.S. subsidiary and six foreign-based subsidiaries. Multi-national companies that make illicit payments through layers of subsidiaries will be held accountable."

The SEC's complaint filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., alleges that from 1999 to 2004, ABB Network Management (ABB NM) — a business unit within ABB's U.S. subsidiary — bribed officials in Mexico to obtain and retain business with two government owned electric utilities, Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE) and Luz y Fuerza del Centro (LyFZ). The bribes were funneled through ABB NM's agent and two other companies in Mexico. The SEC alleges that ABB failed to conduct due diligence on these payments and entities and improperly recorded the bribes on its books as payments for commissions and services on projects in Mexico. Illicit payments included checks and wire transfers to relatives of CFE officials, cash bribes to CFE officials, and a Mediterranean cruise vacation for CFE officials and their wives. As a result of this bribery scheme, ABB NM was awarded contracts with CFE and LyFZ that generated more than $90 million in revenues and $13 million in profits for ABB.

The SEC alleges that from approximately 2000 to 2004, ABB participated in the U.N. Oil for Food Program through six subsidiaries that developed various schemes to pay secret kickbacks to the former regime in Iraq to obtain contracts under the program. ABB's Jordanian subsidiary acted as a conduit for other ABB subsidiaries by making the kickback payments on their behalf. Some of the kickbacks were made in the form of bank guarantees and cash payments. ABB improperly recorded these kickbacks on its books as legitimate payments for after sales services, consultation costs, and commissions. Oil for Food contracts obtained as a result of the kickback schemes generated $13.5 million in revenues and $3.8 million in profits for ABB.

Without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC's complaint, ABB consented to the entry of a final judgment that permanently enjoins the company from future violations of Sections 30A, 13(b)(2)(A), and 13(b)(2)(B) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, orders the company to pay $17,141,474 in disgorgement, $5,662,788 in prejudgment interest, and a $16,510,000 penalty. The order also requires the company to comply with certain undertakings regarding its FCPA compliance program.
In related criminal proceedings, ABB has reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in which ABB has agreed to pay $19 million in criminal penalties.”

As with almost all major felony cases involving a U.S. corporation; no one will go to jail. It seems that having Ltd. or Inc. in the name of a business is the same as a “get out of jail free” card in the game of Monopoly.

Shakespeare said “What is in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Well, in terms of businesses with letters like Ltd. or Inc. in their names, they do smell but, not sweet like a rose.

GE PAYING FINES TO SETTLE BRIBERY ALLEGATIONS

Paying bribes to foreign governments is a political argument U.S. politician often make to prove that all U.S. companies are above board and avoid corruption. More cynical people might argue that U.S. politicians are just highly paid PR people for large corporations both foreign and domestic. The following SEC excerpt is about a major U.S. corporation that the SEC alleged to have paid bribes to the Iraqi government:

“Washington, D.C., July 27, 2010 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged General Electric Company with violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for its involvement in a $3.6 million kickback scheme with Iraqi government agencies to win contracts to supply medical equipment and water purification equipment.

The SEC alleges that two GE subsidiaries — along with two other subsidiaries of public companies that have since been acquired by GE — made illegal kickback payments in the form of cash, computer equipment, medical supplies, and services to the Iraqi Health Ministry or the Iraqi Oil Ministry in order to obtain valuable contracts under the U.N. Oil for Food Program.

GE agreed to pay $23.4 million to settle the SEC's charges against the company as well as the two subsidiaries for which GE assumed liability upon acquiring: Ionics Inc. and Amersham plc. The SEC charged GE, Ionics and Amersham with violating the books and records and internal controls provisions of the FCPA. The SEC has now taken 15 FCPA enforcement actions against companies involved in Oil for Food-related kickback schemes with Iraq, recovering more than $204 million.

"Bribes and kickbacks are bad business, period," said Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement. "This case affirms that law enforcement is active across the globe - offshore does not mean off-limits."

Cheryl J. Scarboro, Chief of the SEC's Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Unit, added, "GE failed to maintain adequate internal controls to detect and prevent these illicit payments by its two subsidiaries to win Oil for Food contracts, and it failed to properly record the true nature of the payments in its accounting records. Furthermore, corporate acquisitions do not provide GE immunity from FCPA enforcement of the other two subsidiaries involved."

According to the SEC's complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the kickback scheme occurred from approximately 2000 to 2003. GE subsidiaries Marquette-Hellige and OEC-Medical Systems (Europa) AG made approximately $2.04 million in kickback payments to the Iraqi government under the Oil for Food Program. Ionics Italba S.r.L. (a then-subsidiary of Ionics) and Nycomed Imaging AS (a then-subsidiary of Amersham) made approximately $1.55 million in cash kickback payments. Since their acquisitions by GE, Amersham and Ionics are now known as GE Healthcare Ltd. and GE Ionics, Inc., respectively.

The SEC alleges that Germany-based Marquette paid or agreed to pay illegal kickbacks in the form of computer equipment, medical supplies, and services on three contracts worth $8.8 million. Through an Iraqi third-party agent, Marquette paid goods and services worth approximately $1.2 million to the Iraqi Health Ministry in order to obtain two of the contracts. The agent offered to make an additional in-kind kickback payment worth approximately $250,000 to obtain the third contract.
The SEC further alleges that Switzerland-based OEC-Medical made an in-kind kickback payment of approximately $870,000 on one contract worth $2.1 million through the same third-party agent who handled the Marquette contracts. OEC-Medical and the agent entered into a fictitious "services provider agreement" identifying phony services the agent would perform in order to justify his increased commission and conceal the illegal kickback from U.N. inspectors.

According to the SEC's complaint, Norway-based Nycomed entered into nine contracts with Iraqi ministries involving the payment of approximately $750,000 in cash kickbacks between 2000 and 2002. As a result, Nycomed earned approximately $5 million in wrongful profits on the contracts. GE acquired Nycomed's parent company — Amersham — in 2004. Italy-based Ionics Italba was a subsidiary of Ionics, Inc., which GE acquired in 2005. Between 2000 and 2002, Ionics Italba paid $795,000 in kickbacks and earned $2.3 million in wrongful profits on five Program contracts to sell water treatment equipment to the Iraqi Oil Ministry. GE acquired its parent company - Ionics Inc., in 2005.

Without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations, GE as well as Ionics (now GE Ionics Inc.) and Amersham (now GE Healthcare Ltd.) have consented to the entry of a court order permanently enjoining them from future violations of Sections 13(b)(2)(A) and 13(b)(2)(B) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. GE is ordered to pay $18,397,949 in disgorgement of profits, $4,080,665 in prejudgment interest, and a penalty of $1 million. GE cooperated with the investigation.

The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Department of Justice's Fraud Section and the United Nations Independent Inquiry Committee.“

Good job SEC for going after a major U.S. company for bribing a foreign government. We should all hope that the U.S. Department of Justice will be as aggressive in going after companies that bribe U.S. politicians.

CALIFORNIA TELECOM CO. CHARGED WITH BRIBERY

On Dec. 31, 2009, the SEC charged UTStarcom, with corrupton charges. The following was found on the SEC Governmental page. It seems that UTStarcom had a very lavish and intricate scheme for bribing officials in Asia. The Department of Justice was also involved with this case. The following is an exerpt from the SEC web page:

"Washington, D.C., Dec. 31, 2009 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Alameda, Calif.-based telecommunications company UTStarcom, Inc. with violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for authorizing millions of dollars in unlawful payments to foreign government officials in Asia.

UTStarcom agreed to settle the SEC's charges and pay a $1.5 million penalty among other remedies. In a related criminal case, the U.S. Department of Justice announced today that UTStarcom agreed to pay an additional $1.5 million fine.

"UTStarcom spent millions of dollars on illegal bribes to win and keep customers in Asia," said Marc J. Fagel, Director of the SEC's San Francisco Regional Office. "It is important for corporate America to recognize that resorting to these methods of boosting profits contributes to a culture of corruption that cannot be condoned under U.S. law."

The SEC's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that UTStarcom's wholly-owned subsidiary in China paid nearly $7 million between 2002 and 2007 for hundreds of overseas trips by employees of Chinese government-controlled telecommunications companies that were customers of UTStarcom, purportedly to provide customer training. In reality, the trips were entirely or primarily for sightseeing.

The SEC further alleges that UTStarcom provided lavish gifts and all-expenses paid executive training programs in the U.S. for existing and potential foreign government customers in China and Thailand. UTStarcom also purported to hire individuals affiliated with foreign government customers to work in the U.S. and provided them with work visas, when in reality the individuals did no work for UTStarcom. According to the SEC's complaint, UTStarcom also made improper payments to sham consultants in China and Mongolia while knowing that they would pay bribes to foreign government officials.

The SEC's complaint charges UTStarcom with violations of the anti-bribery, books and records, and internal controls provisions of the FCPA. UTStarcom agreed, without admitting or denying the charges, to the entry of a permanent injunction against FCPA violations and to provide the SEC with annual FCPA compliance reports and certifications for four years, in addition to paying the $1.5 million penalty.

The SEC acknowledges the assistance of the Department of Justice during the investigation."