Allianz Pays $12 Million|to Settle Bribery Case

     WASHINGTON (CN) – Allianz will pay $12.4 million to settle charges that it bribed foreign officials to get contracts, the SEC said.
     Allianz made more than $5.3 million after paying Indonesian officials $650,626 in bribes, the SEC said in a statement Monday announcing its cease-and-desist order.
     The SEC claims Allianz paid the bribes to secure 295 insurance contracts on large government contracts in Indonesia. That’s a violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Allianz’s Indonesian subsidiary paid the bribes for 7 years, the SEC said.
     “Allianz’s subsidiary created an ‘off-the-books’ account that served as a slush fund for bribe payments to foreign officials to win insurance contracts worth several million dollars,” an SEC spokeswoman said in the statement.
     Allianz, based in Munich, Germany, will pay a total of $12,396,423 in disgorgement, interest and penalties, the SEC said.