Daimler, the German giant behind the Mercedes-Benz automotive and truck business, has pleaded guilty to corruption charges brought by the U.S. Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission and agreed to pay $185 million in penalties for its bribery practices.
In a 76-page filing in federal court, U.S. prosecutors said between 1988 and 2008, Daimler paid at least US$56 million in bribes to foreign officials in at least 22 countries that included China, Russia, Egypt, Greece and Nigeria.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said in a statement that the carmaker "engaged in a repeated and systematic practice of paying bribes to foreign government officials to secure business in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East."
Among others, the SEC said that Daimler spent €11,000 (about US$15,000) to pay for a luxurious vacation in Europe for six Chinese officials, adding that another 16 such trips were connected with $120 million in vehicle sales to the Chinese government.
In another case, the SEC said that Daimler tried to enter the Turkmenistan market by giving two armored vehicles worth at least €550,000 (approx. US$740,000) to a senior government official. To seal the deal, the German company also had a book authored by the official translated into German...
According to the SEC, Daimler allegedly earned $1.9 billion in revenue and at least $91.4 million in illegal profits from transactions connected to bribes.
U.S. prosecutor John Darden acknowledged though that Daimler fully cooperated with the authorities during the investigation.
"Daimler showed excellent cooperation," said Darden. "The company has undertaken an effort to clean its own house. That reflects a serious change of mind on part of Daimler. This deserves credit."
Aside from paying the fine, Daimler also fired about 45 employees and disciplined another 300 people that were connected to the case.
Daimler's bribery case is not a first for German firms as in 2008, Siemens agreed to pay $800 million to settle a US investigation concerning bribes paid to officials to secure contracts in Argentina, Bangladesh, Iraq and Venezuela.
Via: FT and Reuters (Kudos to Akiv for the tip)
