In 2012 Pfizer resolved a $60 million Foreign Corrupt Practices Act action concerning conduct in Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Italy, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Serbia. (See here).
Beginning in 2019, Pfizer disclosed new FCPA scrutiny.
Pfizer disclosed additional FCPA scrutiny in 2020.
In 2012 Pfizer resolved a $60 million Foreign Corrupt Practices Act action concerning conduct in Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Italy, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Serbia. (See here).
As stated by the SEC:
“This action arises from violations of the books and records and internal controls provisions of the [FCPA by Pfizer] relating to improper payments made to foreign officials in numerous countries by the employees and agents of Pfizer’s subsidiaries in order to assist Pfizer in obtaining or retaining business. At various times from at least 2001 through 2007, employees and agents of subsidiaries of Pfizer, conducting business in Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Italy, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Serbia, engaged in transactions for the purpose of improperly influencing foreign officials, including doctors and other healthcare professionals employed by foreign governments. These improper payments were variously made to influence regulatory and formulary approvals, purchase decisions, prescription decisions, and to clear customs. Employees in each of the involved subsidiaries attempted to conceal the true nature of the transactions by improperly recording the transactions on the books and records of the respective subsidiaries. Examples included falsely recording the payments as legitimate expenses for promotional activities, marketing, training, travel and entertainment, clinical trials, freight, conferences and advertising. These improper payments were made without the knowledge or approval of officers or employees of Pfizer, but the inaccurate books and records of Pfizer’s subsidiaries were consolidated in the financial reports of Pfizer, and Pfizer failed to devise and maintain an appropriate system of internal accounting controls.”
Remember when a top-ranking DOJ official said in 2017 (see here) that the DOJ’s “intent is for our FCPA investigations to be measured in months, not years”?
Me too. That was pretty funny.
Set forth below are scrutiny updates from companies that have been under FCPA scrutiny for approximately three years.
Pfizer
As highlighted here, Pfizer (a company that resolved a $60 million FCPA enforcement action in 2012 concerning conduct in Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Italy, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Serbia) disclosed additional FCPA scrutiny in mid-2019.
In recent days, Pfizer has been in the news cycle for two materially different reasons.
Indeed, the juxtaposition is striking.
First, Pfizer (a company that resolved an approximate $60 million Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action in 2012 concerning conduct in Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Italy, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Serbia) has been under renewed FCPA scrutiny since 2019 and recently disclosed as follows:
This post highlights scrutiny alerts and updates regarding Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson – companies that have previously resolved Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement actions.
Pfizer
In 2012, Pfizer (and Wyeth – an entity Pfizer acquired in 2009) resolved FCPA enforcement actions totaling approximately $60 million. (See here).
Pfizer previously disclosed additional FCPA scrutiny in Russia as the company stated: “In June 2019, we received an informal request from the U.S. Department of Justice’s FCPA Unit seeking documents relating to our operations in Russia. In September 2019, we received a similar request from the SEC’s FCPA unit. We are producing records pursuant to these requests.”
Pfizer recently added China as an additional country of scrutiny as the company disclosed:
