Panasonic to Pay $280 Million to End U.S. Corruption Probe
- Company’s inflight-entertainment unit improperly hid payments
- Allegations involve agents used in the Middle East, Asia
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Panasonic Corp. will pay about $280 million to resolve U.S. allegations that executives at its in-flight-entertainment unit improperly hid payments to consultants in the Middle East and Asia, some of whom did little or no work for the company.
The Panasonic parent company, in a settlement announced Monday, will pay $143 million in disgorgement to the Securities and Exchange Commission, while Panasonic Avionics Corp. agreed to pay about $137 million in penalties to the Justice Department for violations of the accounting provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.