Oracle settles with SEC: $23 million to settle FCPA charges

Sina Technology News on the evening of September 27, Beijing time, it is reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced today that it has reached a settlement with Oracle, which agreed to pay more than $23 million to resolve SEC's Foreign corrupt practices Act (FCPA) allegations.

SEC has previously accused Oracle of creating and using bribe funds to bribe foreign officials in exchange for business from its subsidiaries in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and India.

SEC alleges that Oracle's subsidiaries in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates violated Oracle's policies and procedures by using bribe funds to pay foreign officials to attend technical meetings. In some cases, employees of Oracle's Turkish subsidiary also used the funds for the families of these officials to accompany them to international conferences or trips to California.

SEC has previously imposed sanctions on Oracle for creating a bribery fund. At the time, Oracle India created multimillion-dollar affiliated funds, creating the risk that the funds could be used for illegal purposes. In 2012, Oracle reconciled with SEC.

"the creation of off-book bribery funds essentially leads to the risk of misuse of these funds, which is exactly what happened to Oracle's subsidiaries in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and India," said Charles Cain, head of SEC FCPA's division. "the incident highlights the need for effective internal accounting controls throughout the company's operations."

Without acknowledging or denying the SEC findings, Oracle agreed to stop violating FCPA's anti-bribery, books and records, as well as internal accounting controls, and would pay approximately $8 million in ill-gotten gains and $15 million in fines.