In an important judgement associated with India, the US Government asked Cognizant to pay the fine of $25 Million. According to the indictment, in 2014 Gordon Coburn and Steven Schwartz allegedly authorized an unlawful payment of approximately $2 million to one or more government officials in India to secure and obtain a permit to build a new campus in the country.
Cognizant’s payment to the U.S. government, which includes a $6 million fine and $19 million in disgorgement and interest, resolves related civil charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The information technology services company is based in Teaneck, New Jersey.
On Friday, Cognizant agreed to pay $25 million to settle a 2016 case under Foreign Corruption Prevention Act with US authorities. The Nasdaq-listed company routed the bribes through Larsen and Toubro to government officials in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu in the three years to 2015, according to the reports from Live Mint.
Bribery to further corporate goals is an illusory path to longterm success. While always the wrong choice, it is particularly egregious when senior executives chart that course for those they lead
