ORACLE TO PAY $23M SETTLEMENT

Oracle will pay $23 million to settle charges that the company bribed foreign officials through its subsidiaries in several countries, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced Tuesday.

The SEC order alleges that Oracle subsidiaries in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and India used slush funds to bribe officials in return for business between 2016 and 2019.

As part of the settlement, Oracle did not admit or deny the findings, but agreed to cease and desist from committing violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and pay the settlement, according to the SEC.

“The creation of off-book slush funds inherently gives rise to the risk those funds will be used improperly, which is exactly what happened here at Oracle’s Turkey, UAE, and India subsidiaries,” Charles Cain, the SEC’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act unit chief, said in a statement. “This matter highlights the critical need for effective internal accounting controls throughout the entirety of a company’s operations.”