InfoBytes Blog
IT outsourcing company resolves FCPA investigations
On February 15, an information technology and business process outsourcing company paid $25 million to settle SEC civil charges that it violated the FCPA. The SEC alleged that the company paid $3.6 million in bribes through its construction contractor to senior government officials in India in order to obtain permits needed to build, among other things, a large office campus in Chennai. To resolve the SEC’s allegations, the company paid $19 million in disgorgement and a $6 million penalty.
The DOJ declined to bring criminal charges against the company, citing, among other factors, the company’s voluntary self-disclosure, comprehensive investigation, full cooperation and remediation, and its preexisting compliance program. The company issued a statement highlighting that the matter did not concern any of the company’s work with clients and did not affect any of the services it provides to clients.
On the same day the settlement was announced, two former company executives—the president and chief legal officer—were hit with civil and criminal charges for allegedly authorizing $2 million in bribes and directing the creation of false contractor change orders to mask payment of the bribes. The former executives are charged with violating the anti-bribery, books and records, and internal accounting controls provisions of the FCPA. Pursuant to its letter agreement with DOJ, the company is required to fully cooperate in the ongoing prosecutions.