As highlighted in this prior post, in April 2018 the DOJ and SEC announced a parallel Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action against Japan-based Panasonic Corp. and a U.S. subsidiary Panasonic Avionics Corp. (PAC) pursuant to which the entities agreed to pay $280 million.
According to the government, PAC employees, including senior executive, engaged in a scheme to retain consultants for improper purposes other than providing actual consulting services. In one instance, PAC executives negotiated a consulting position with a senior contracts official at a Middle East airlines at the same time the alleged “foreign official” was involved in negotiating a contract amendment on behalf of the airline with PAC. In other instances, PAC employees concealed use of sales agents in Asia, some of which did not pass PAC’s internal diligence requirements.