Between 2007 and 2016, the Panasonic Avionics Corporation (Panasonic) made illicit payments to consultants at its US in-flight-entertainment unit in the Middle East and Asia including payments to a government official at a state-owned airline in an effort to solicit work from the airline. It was later discovered that this airline awarded contracts to Panasonic that were worth more than $92 million in revenue..
Panasonic is also responsible for falsely recording and hiding more than $7 million in payments to sales agents in Asia. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged the company with one count of “knowingly and willfully causing the falsification of the books, records, and accounts” of the Japanese based Panasonic parent company.
Panasonic has agreed to pay $280 million and make improvements to its compliance programs in order to settle these offenses, $137 million of which will go to the DOJ and another $143 million in disgorgement will go to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
For the full article, click here.