Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has admitted paying bribes to win business in Angola, agreeing with the US Justice Department to repay $14.4 million (€12.8 million) in profits.
According to a BCG note posted on its website Wednesday, between 2011 and 2017, some employees “improperly paid third parties to provide business security.”
“Upon discovering this, BCG immediately reported it to the U.S. Department of Justice,” the memo says, and BCG “removed these individuals from the company and has since closed its office in Luanda, Angola.”
According to the Justice Department’s investigation, the bribes in question were paid through an office in Lisbon.
“Certain BCG employees in Portugal took steps to conceal the nature of the agent’s work at BCG when internal problems arose, including backdating contracts and falsifying the agent’s purported performance,” the Justice Department said.
Because BCG took the initiative to report the case, it was able to reach an agreement with the Department of Justice.
The group says the Justice Department “declined to prosecute BCG under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for conduct related to certain employee activities in Angola between 2011 and 2017.” That decision was justified by “voluntary disclosure, full cooperation, and improved compliance by BCG,” it explains.
Under the agreement, BCG will pay $14.4 million, “which the Justice Department calculates reflects BCG’s profits from the affected work in Angola.”
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Tifany Hawkins, a professional journalist with years of experience in news reporting. I currently work for a prominent news website and write articles for 24NewsReporters as an author. My primary focus is on economy-related stories, though I am also experienced in several other areas of journalism.