Osaka, Japan - Panasonic Corporation (TSE: 6752, "Panasonic") and one of its U.S. subsidiaries, Panasonic Avionics Corporation ("Panasonic Avionics"), have entered into agreements with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and the United States Department of Justice ("DOJ"), respectively. The agreements resolve investigations that were previously disclosed in a February 2, 2017 press release.
Activities at Panasonic Avionics with respect to certain contracts with airline customers and the use of sales agents and consultants pertaining to such contracts were investigated by the DOJ and the SEC under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other securities laws.
Panasonic and Panasonic Avionics will pay a combined total of $280,602,830.93 to the U.S. government in connection with these resolutions. These payments are not expected to have a material impact on Panasonic's consolidated results forecasts for the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2018, as provisioning was completed by the third quarter of the year.
Panasonic Avionics has also agreed to engage an independent compliance monitor for a period of two years, after which Panasonic Avionics will self-report for one year. Additionally, Panasonic is overseeing a wide range of compliance and internal controls enhancements at Panasonic Avionics as part of measures to reform the corporate culture. These have included appointing a new management team and substantially reducing, and enhancing controls around, the use of third-party agents and consultants.
Panasonic takes these issues very seriously and is committed to increasing compliance awareness throughout the organization and strengthening its oversight of its subsidiaries globally.
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