Smith & Nephew Settles Greek Bribery Charges
Smith & Nephew has agreed to pay the U.S. government more than $22 million to settle charges that the company bribed Greek public doctors over more than a decade.
The government had charged Smith & Nephew's U.S. subsidiary under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The government alleged that the company used a distributor to create a "slush fund" to forward payments to doctors working at government hospitals in Greece in order to win business.
This won't come as a shock to readers of Michael Lewis's book, Boomerang. In the book Lewis claims that Greece has a well known culture of cheating on taxes, bribing public officials and cooking the public books.
The company has committed to pay $22,226,799 in fines and profit disgorgement, maintain an enhanced compliance program, and appoint an independent monitor for at least 18 months to review and report on its compliance program.
The government had charged Smith & Nephew's U.S. subsidiary under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The government alleged that the company used a distributor to create a "slush fund" to forward payments to doctors working at government hospitals in Greece in order to win business.
This won't come as a shock to readers of Michael Lewis's book, Boomerang. In the book Lewis claims that Greece has a well known culture of cheating on taxes, bribing public officials and cooking the public books.
The company has committed to pay $22,226,799 in fines and profit disgorgement, maintain an enhanced compliance program, and appoint an independent monitor for at least 18 months to review and report on its compliance program.
