Diebold Bribed|Chinese Officials

WASHINGTON (CN) - Diebold will pay $48 million to settle civil and criminal charges of bribing Chinese and Indonesian officials to get contracts, the SEC said today.

The SEC said in its settled complaint that from 2005 to 2010 Diebold, an Ohio-based security company, "lavished international leisure trips, entertainment, and other improper gifts on foreign officials to obtain and retain lucrative business with government owned banks in China and Indonesia. During that same period, Diebold, through its Russian subsidiary, paid bribes in connection with the sale of ATMs to private banks in Russia. In all, Diebold made approximately $3 million in illicit payments in China, Russia, and Indonesia."

The bribes to officials of government-owned banks in China included "trips to Europe, with stays in Paris, Amsterdam, Florence, Rome, and other European cities, and trips to the United States, with travel to the Grand Canyon, Napa Valley, Disneyland, Las Vegas, and other popular tourist destinations," according to the SEC complaint. "Diebold spent approximately $ 1.6 million on leisure trips, entertainment, and other improper gifts for government bank officials in China. During this same time period, through its subsidiary P.T. Diebold Indonesia ('Diebold Indonesia'), Diebold spent over $147,000 on leisure trips and entertainment for officials of government-owned banks in Indonesia. Diebold executives in charge of the company's operations in Asia knew of these improper practices. The illicit payments were falsely recorded in Diebold's books and records as training or other legitimate business expenses."

Diebold will pay $22.9 million to settle the SEC complaint, and $25.2 million to settle the parallel criminal complaint, the SEC said.

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