3M resolves US anti-bribery charges in China, SEC confirms.
3M Co to Pay $6.5 Million Settlement for Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Violations
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that 3M Co has agreed to pay over $6.5 million to resolve charges of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations related to its subsidiary in China.
The SEC alleged that the subsidiary engaged in arrangements to provide Chinese government officials with overseas travel, including tourism activities, in order to influence them to purchase company products.
The SEC further stated that employees at the 3M unit colluded with local travel agencies to organize these trips, with the subsidiary funding at least 24 trips for Chinese government officials, which included tourism activities and shopping visits, amounting to nearly $1 million.
3M did not admit or deny the SEC’s findings.
Charles Cain, the chief of SEC’s FCPA unit, emphasized the importance of strong internal accounting controls for companies with global operations.
In 2018, 3M discovered that some employees had circumvented company controls and ethics policy. The company promptly reported the matter to the U.S. government and fully cooperated with the investigation.
3M stated, “We have taken appropriate action to address this violation of company policy and have enhanced our internal controls to prevent similar instances in the future.”
(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Ismail Shakil; Editing by Rami Ayyub, Caitlin Webber and Mike Harrison)
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