Multiple US companies have settled bribery cases with the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), paying significant fines to resolve charges of corrupt practices in India and other countries, according to a report by The Pioneer.

Key Cases and Penalties

  1. Moog Inc:
    The SEC found that Moog Inc, through its Indian subsidiary Moog Motion Controls Private Limited (MMCPL), paid over $500,000 in bribes to officials of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Indian Railways. These payments were reportedly made to secure contracts valued at $1.4 million for HAL and $34,323 for Indian Railways. Moog settled the charges by paying a penalty exceeding $1.68 million.
    In a series of posts on X last month, Anantha Krishnan M (@writetake) had pointed out that indigenous actuators of superior quality have been available for approximately the past decade. In his posts, he had called for an investigation to ascertain the reason behind HAL choosing to import these parts from Moog, which had cost the Indian government Rs. 100 crore more than the homegrown actuators.
  2. Oracle Corporation:
    Oracle was charged with paying bribes totaling $6.8 million to entities in India, the UAE, and Turkey. In India, Oracle sales employees reportedly used excessive discounts and funneled funds to entities with reputations for bribing officials. The company settled the charges by paying a $23 million fine.
  3. Albemarle Corporation:
    Albemarle faced allegations of bribing officials of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and companies in Indonesia and Vietnam. The DOJ’s investigation revealed bribes amounting to $63.5 million between 2009 and 2017. Albemarle reportedly paid $1.14 million to an intermediary in India to secure IOC contracts, generating $11.14 million in profits. The company resolved the charges by paying a $198 million penalty.

Details of Bribery Schemes

The SEC orders describe various schemes to secure contracts through improper payments. Moog’s Indian subsidiary allegedly engaged intermediaries to facilitate bribes and misrecorded these payments as legitimate contractor services. In one instance, a 10% commission was paid to a railway official, while HAL contracts involved 2.5% bribes.

Oracle’s case included excessive discounting practices, with payments funneled through third-party entities to state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Albemarle’s bribery operations involved intermediary companies, including efforts to remove IOC from a restricted vendor list.

Settlements to Avoid Prosecution

The companies opted to settle the charges with significant fines rather than face prosecution. According to SEC and DOJ records, the settlements include financial penalties intended to deter similar practices.

This summary is based on information provided by the SEC and DOJ orders. Further details can be found in their respective reports.

Related: