$16 Million Goodyear SEC Settlement Highlights M&A Risks and Subsidiary Liability

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company has agreed to pay $16 million to settle civil FCPA charges, resolving allegations that it failed to detect more than $3.2 million in improper payments made by its Kenyan and Angolan subsidiaries.  The SEC says that due diligence failures relating to the acquisition of the Kenyan subsidiary and weak internal controls allowed the bribery to occur unchecked.  Goodyear received credit for self-disclosure, cooperation and remediation.  “Goodyear did very well,” Robert Appleton, a partner at Day Pitney, told the Anti-Corruption Report.  The company “got the best result I think it could have hoped for,” he said.  See also “Seven Issues to Address When Performing Pre-Acquisition Due Diligence” (Nov. 20, 2013).

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