As highlighted in this previous post, in mid-2017 Uber came under Foreign Corrupt Practices Act scrutiny.
The company disclosed: “We received requests from the DOJ in May 2017 and August 2017 with respect to an investigation into allegations of small payments to police in Indonesia and other potential improper payments in other countries in which we operate or have operated, including Malaysia, China, and India.”
Earlier today, Uber disclosed:
“The Fraud Section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division (the “Fraud Section”) recently informed the Company that the Fraud Section has closed its inquiry and will not be pursuing enforcement action against the Company in relation to a previously disclosed Fraud Section investigation of possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in countries in which the Company operates or has operated, including Indonesia, Malaysia, China, and India.”
In other scrutiny news, Landec Corporation (which describes itself as a leading innovator of diversified health and wellness solutions) recently disclosed
“As previously disclosed, on December 1, 2018, the Company acquired all of the voting interests and substantially all of the assets of Yucatan Foods (the “Yucatan Acquisition”), which owns a guacamole manufacturing plant in Mexico called Procesadora Tanok, S de RL de C.V. (“Tanok”).
On October 21, 2019, the Company retained Latham & Watkins, LLP to conduct an internal investigation relating to potential environmental and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) compliance matters associated with regulatory permitting at the Tanok facility in Mexico. The Company subsequently disclosed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) the conduct under investigation, and these agencies have commenced an investigation. The Company is cooperating in the government investigations. The conduct at issue began prior to the Yucatan Acquisition, and the agreement for the Yucatan Acquisition provides the Company with certain indemnification rights that may allow the Company to recover the cost of all or a portion of the liabilities that have been and may be incurred by the Company in connection with these compliance matters. With these indemnification rights, we do not believe that the effects of these compliance matters will have a material impact on the financial statements. However, at this stage, the ultimate outcome of these or any other investigations or potential claims that may arise from the matters under investigation is uncertain and we cannot reasonably predict the timing or outcomes, or estimate the amount of loss, if any, or their effect, if any, on our financial statements.”
According to the company, it “incurred expenses of approximately $0.8 million this quarter (2Q FY2020) which are primarily related to legal expenses associated with this matter, and it expects to incur additional expenses in future quarters until the matter is resolved.”
