By IANS,
Washington : The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Thursday charged Eli Lilly and Company with violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
The SEC alleged the pharmaceutical company’s subsidiaries in Russia, Brazil, China and Poland gave cash and gifts to government officials in order to win millions of dollars of business, reported Xinhua.
Specifically, employees at Lilly’s subsidiary in China falsified expense reports in order to provide spa treatments, jewellery, and other improper gifts and cash payments to government-employed physicians.
The Indianapolis-based company agreed to pay $29.4 million to settle the SEC’s charges, without admitting or denying the allegations.
Eli Lilly, the maker of the antidepressant Cymbalta, said in a statement that the settlement related to the SEC investigation from 1994 to 2009. The company was first notified of the investigation in August 2003.
“When a parent company learns tell-tale signs of a bribery scheme involving a subsidiary, it must take immediate action to assure that the FCPA is not being violated,” said Antonia Chion, associate director in the SEC Enforcement Division.
The FCPA enforcement is a high priority area for the SEC. This year it has charged 10 entities for violating the FCPA including multinationals like Pfizer, Oracle and Allianz SE.