U.S. technology company Cisco Systems is investigating whether its employees in China were involved in a “self-enrichment scheme” that included payments to state-owned entities, it said in a Feb. 16 Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Cisco said those employees, who no longer work for the company, may have “made or directed payments from the funds they received to various third parties,” including employees of state-controlled companies. Cisco said it disclosed the potential violations to the Justice Department. “While the outcome of our investigation is currently not determinable, we do not expect that it will have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows,” the company said. The Justice Department didn't comment.

A new South Korea anti-corruption regulator to target high-ranking government officials could affect private companies doing business with the country, an FCPA Blog post said Jan. 20. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials will act as an independent agency to investigate corruption cases among both acting and retired public officials, the post said. The body can also investigate crimes related to corruption, including bribes paid by private companies or companies that “acted as accomplices to the crimes committed by high-ranking officials.” The agency is expected to start work in the “next few months,” the post said. Companies doing business in South Korea “should carefully review their risk profiles with respect to interactions with Korea’s senior officials.”

An Ecuadorian businessman was sentenced to 35 months in prison for his role in a $4.4 million bribery scheme that violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Justice Department said Jan. 28. Armengol Alfonso Cevallos Diaz, who pleaded guilty to the charges last year (see 2001240032), worked with others to bribe officials at Empresa Publica de Hidrocarburos del Ecuador (PetroEcuador), Ecuador's state-owned oil company, the Justice Department said. The agency also said it charged former PetroEcuador officials and other businessmen and contractors involved in the scheme.

Germany-based Deutsche Bank will pay more than $130 million to settle its violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and separate investigation into a commodities fraud scheme, the Justice Department said Jan. 8. The violations stem from a scheme to hide bribes, which included internal accounting control violations, and another scheme involving “fraudulent and manipulative commodities trading practices” in publicly traded precious metals futures.

A New Jersey man who owned two U.S. companies involved in supplying naval goods and services, pleaded guilty to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act after he bribed a South Korean government official, the Justice Department said Dec. 17. The agency said Deck Won Kang paid $100,000 in bribes to a Korean official to obtain and retain contracts with South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), a state-owned and -controlled defense agency.

The former president of a Maryland transportation company was sentenced to four years in prison for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act after bribing an official at Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation, the Justice Department said Oct. 28. Mark Lambert, who headed Transportation Logistics International, which provided transportation services for nuclear materials, pleaded guilty to the charges last year (see 1911250025). Lambert was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay a $20,000 fine.

A Chicago beverage company agreed to pay more than $19.6 million after it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Justice Department said Oct. 27. Beam Suntory Inc. allegedly tried to bribe an Indian government official to gain approval for a license “to bottle a line of products” that the company wanted to sell in India, Justice said. The company also violated records and book-keeping laws by ignoring “improper activities and practices” by third-parties engaged by Beam in India that led to corruption risks.

A Brazilian investment company was fined more than $256 million after pleading guilty to paying millions of dollars in bribes to government officials for contracts, the Justice Department said Oct. 14. J&F Investimentos S.A. pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act when it worked with others to bribe “high-level” Brazilian officials, including an executive at Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social (BNDES), Brazil’s state-owned bank.

A Mexican citizen who lives in the U.S. was charged with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for his alleged involvement in an international bribery and money laundering scheme. Javier Aguilar, a trader at the U.S. subsidiary of a multinational oil distributor, allegedly paid $870,000 worth of bribes to Ecuadorian officials, the Justice Department said Sept. 22.

A U.S. asphalt company agreed to pay a criminal fine of $16.6 million after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit anti-bribery violations, the Justice Department said Sept. 22. The agency said Sargeant Marine Inc. conspired to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act when it schemed to bribe foreign officials in Brazil, Venezuela and Ecuador to obtain asphalt contracts.