WASHINGTON, April 8 (UPI) -- U.S. pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $70 million to settle charges of bribing and kickbacks in Europe and Iraq, U.S. officials said.
In a statement Thursday the Securities and Exchange Commission said J&J violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by bribing doctors in Europe and said the company illegally obtained business through kickbacks in Iraq.
"The message in this and the SEC's other FCPA cases is plain -- any competitive advantage gained through corruption is a mirage," said Robert Khuzami, director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement.
"J&J chose profit margins over compliance with the law by acquiring a private company for the purpose of paying bribes, and using sham contracts, off-shore companies and slush funds to cover its tracks."
The SEC said since at least 1988 J&J subsidiaries paid bribes to public doctors in Greece, Poland and Romania to obtain sales and contracts, and also paid kickbacks in Iraq to obtain more than a dozen contracts under the U.N. Oil for Food Program.
The company agreed to pay more than $48.6 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest as well as a $21.4 million fine to settle related criminal charges announced by the Justice Department.
A related investigation in the United Kingdom is expected to be resolved soon.
