LAKE FOREST, Calif. — Panasonic Corp. will pay about $280 million to resolve federal charges that executives at its in-flight entertainment unit improperly hid payments to consultants overseas in violation of anti-corruption rules, officials announced Monday.<\/p>\n
The Japanese electronics giant’s parent company will pay $143 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission, while its Southern California subsidiary, Panasonic Avionics, will pay $137 million in penalties to the U.S. Justice Department, federal prosecutors said.<\/p>\n
The investigation concerned payments to consultants in Asia and the Middle East, at least one of which did little or no work, authorities said.<\/p>\n
Panasonic Avionics was accused of concealing payments to third-party sales agents between 2007 and 2016, in violation of the accounting provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.<\/p>\n
Those payments were improperly recorded in Panasonic’s regulatory filings, officials said.<\/p>\n
“When Panasonic Avionics Corporation caused its publicly-traded parent company to falsify its books and records, it distorted the information available to legitimate investors,” said acting Assistant Attorney General John Cronan.<\/p>\n
In one case, Panasonic hired a foreign official as a consultant while the official was simultaneously negotiating a contract between the company and a government-owned airline.<\/p>\n
The official was paid $875,000 over six years, despite doing “little work,” according to documents.<\/p>\n
The case has prompted internal changes at Panasonic, including “appointing a new management team and substantially reducing, and enhancing controls around, the use of third-party agents and consultants,” the company said in a statement Monday.<\/p>\n
Panasonic Avionics also agreed to engage an independent compliance monitor for a period of two years.<\/p>\n
“Panasonic takes these issues very seriously and is committed to increasing compliance awareness throughout the organization and strengthening its oversight of its subsidiaries globally,” the statement said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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