Daimler AG, 3 Subsidiaries to Pay $185 Million for Violating FCPA
The Justice Department has issued a press release announcing that Daimler AG, a German corporation, and three of its subsidiaries, will pay $185 million in civil and criminal penalties to resolve charges related to a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) investigation into the company's worldwide sales practices.
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The three subsidiaries are:
Russian subsidiary DaimlerChrysler Automotive Russia SAO (DCAR), now known as Mercedes-Benz Russia SAO;
German subsidiary, Export and Trade Finance GmbH (ETF); and
Chinese subsidiary, DaimlerChrysler China Ltd. (DCCL), now known as Daimler North East Asia Ltd.
Bribes Made to 22 Countries, Kickbacks Under Oil for Food Program
According to court documents, Daimler AG and its subsidiaries made hundreds of improper payments worth tens of millions of dollars to foreign officials in at least 22 countries - including China, Croatia, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Latvia, Nigeria, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and others - to assist in securing contracts with government customers for the purchase of Daimler vehicles.
Among other things, Daimler AG also admitted that it agreed to pay kickbacks to the former Iraqi government in connection with contracts to sell vehicles to Iraq under the UN's Oil for Food program.
Daimler Agrees to $185 Million in Fines, 3-Year Compliance Monitor
Under deferred prosecution agreements, Daimler AG and its subsidiaries will pay a total of $93.6 million in criminal fines and penalties. A separate judgment was also entered against Daimler AG resolving a related civil complaint filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, under which Daimler AG agreed to pay $91.4 million.
Under the terms of its deferred prosecution agreement, Daimler AG agreed to retain an independent compliance monitor for a three-year period to oversee the company's continued implementation and maintenance of an FCPA compliance program, and to make reports to the company and the Justice Department. DCAR, ETF and DCCL are covered by the monitoring provisions of the deferred prosecution agreement with their parent company
DOJ press release (dated 04/01/10) available at http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/April/10-crm-360.html