WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th December, 2022) Honeywell International Inc. has agreed to pay more than $81 million after being charged for engaging in "bribery schemes" in Brazil and Algeria, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said in a statement on Monday.
"The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Honeywell International Inc. for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) arising out of bribery schemes that took place in Brazil and Algeria. The company has agreed to pay more than $81 million to settle the SEC's charges," the statement said.
Honeywell engaged in the bribery schemes via intermediaries and employees to obtain business from the Brazilian state-owned entity Petrobras and offered at least $4 million to a senior Brazilian official in 2010, the statement said.
In a separate attempt a year later, Honeywell staff and agents in Belgium paid more than $75,000 in bribes to an Algerian government official to obtain and retain business with the Algerian state-owned entity Sonatrach, the statement said.
The SEC accused Honeywell of neglecting to implement sufficient internal accounting controls to mitigate against known corruption risks in Brazil and Algeria.
"This failure created an environment in which Honeywell employees and agents could and did facilitate bribes," the statement said.
In a parallel case, Honeywell also entered into a deferred prosecution agreement and agreed to pay more than $78 million to settle criminal charges brought by the US Justice Department of Justice as well as agreed to settle additional charges brought by the Brazilian government, the statement added.
