The US-based Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. admitted that its subsidiaries paid kickbacks to government officials in Russia, Thailand and Vietnam.
The scientific and clinical diagnostic equipment manufacturer has agreed to pay US$55 million to settle criminal and civil charges, the San Jose Mercury News reported Monday, citing a release from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
According to the sources, Bio-Rad subsidiaries in Europe and Asia bribed government officials between 2005 and 2010 with payments to poorly-disgused middlemen.
Bio-Rad executives ignored the payments, according to investigators. One Russian middleman apparently used the address of a Russian government building when registering his shell company, according to the SEC.
Also, the payments were made through banks in Latvia and Lithuania, another alleged red flag.
Several “high level” Bio-Rad managers approved the payments, the Justice Department said.
In Vietnam, a sales representative from Bio-Rad allegedly hired a middleman to pay the bribes, according to the SEC. Bio-Rad’s sales manager agreed to the practice fearing that the company would lose 80 percent of its sales if it stopped paying bribes, according to the SEC complaint.
The San Jose Mercury News reported that the company escaped criminal prosecution under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act because it disclosed the violations of its subsidiaries when it discovered them in 2010, then assisted with the investigation.
Đăng ký: VietNam News