In its first quarter 10-Q, Newmont Mining, one of the world's largest gold producers, disclosed that it is working with the SEC and DOJ to investigate "certain business activities of the Company and its affiliates and contractors outside the United States." While the company did not disclose the locations under investigation, its website lists non-U.S. operations and projects in Peru, Suriname, Ghana, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand. According to the filing, Newmont entered into a one-year agreement with the SEC tolling the statute of limitations and recently also signed a similar agreement with the DOJ.
To read more, see the post in the FCPA Blog and article on MINING.com.
After settling FCPA-related allegations concerning conduct of two Chinese subsidiaries with the SEC, Novartis has disclosed in its first-quarter securities filing that South Korean prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into Novartis Korea regarding the use of medical journals to "provide inappropriate economic benefits to healthcare professionals." According to the company's email statement received by the WSJ, Novartis is conducting its own investigation into these claims and is cooperating with authorities.
To read more, see the article in The Wall Street Journal and coverage in the FCPA Blog.
Chemical & Mining Company of Chile Inc. (SQM) disclosed in its April 21, 2016, 20-F filing that it has reported the results of a foreign bribery investigation to U.S. and Chilean regulators. The findings of this investigation, which were first presented by an Ad-Hoc Committee to the Board of Directors in December 2015, concluded that while authorized payments lacked supporting documentation, "no evidence was identified that demonstrated that the payments were made in order to induce a public official to act or refrain from acting in order to assist SQM in obtaining economic benefits." These same results were voluntarily shared with authorities in Chile and the United States, including the SEC and DOJ, and SQM continues to cooperate with both governments.
For additional information, see coverage in The Wall Street Journal.
PTC, Inc., a Massachusetts-based provider of industrial and retail software, has disclosed in a recent 8-K filing that Chinese authorities are now investigating the company in connection with the same allegations that the company previously resolved in February 2016 as part of civil and criminal settlements with the DOJ and SEC. According to the DOJ and SEC settlements, PTC's Chinese subsidiaries provided approximately $1.5 million in improper travel and gifts to Chinese officials employed by state-owned entities in exchange for contract awards. PTC states that the China Administration for Industry and Commerce, an agency "authorized to issue fines and assess other civil penalties" initiated the investigation, which is not "necessarily limited" to the U.S. matter, on March 2, 2016.
To read more, see the article in The Wall Street Journal.
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