HP pleads guilty to bribing Russian officials, fined US$58.7M
by The Associated Press
U.S. officials allege HP division paid US$2 million to retain technology contract with Russian prosecutors
SAN FRANCISCO—Hewlett-Packard Co. has pleaded guilty to felony charges that former employees bribed Russian government officials for a contract, and the company has been fined US$58.7 million.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says Hewlett-Packard’s Russian subsidiary admitted to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in a Northern California court this week.
The SEC alleged the HP division paid US$2 million to retain a technology contract with Russian prosecutors.
The plea and sentence are part of a larger agreement reached in April.
HP agreed to pay a total of US$108 million in criminal and civil penalties for bribing officials in Russia, Mexico and Poland.
Lawyers for the Palo Alto, Calif., company have said the misconduct was limited to a small number of people who no longer work there.
