Austin-based Oracle pays $23 million to settle SEC bribery charges

Staff and wire reports
·2 min read

Austin-based software giant Oracle has agreed to pay $23 million to settle corruption charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which accused the company of using its subsidiaries to bribe government officials in foreign countries to land business deals.

SEC officials accused Oracle of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act when its subsidiaries in India, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates created slush funds used to bribe foreign officials from 2016 to 2019. Oracle’s subsidiaries also used the funds to pay foreign officials to attend technology conferences, according to the SEC's allegations.

Oracle also settled charges in 2012 after Oracle India created millions of dollars of side funds, the SEC said.

More:Software giant Oracle moving corporate HQ to Austin

Charles Cain, an enforcement official with the SEC, said in a written statement that that agency's investigation shows a need for “effective internal accounting controls” at Oracle.

“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,” Cain said.

Oracle did not admit any wrongdoing, but agreed to cease any violations of the anti-bribery, books and recordsa nd internal accounting controls provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Oracle's fine included $8 million in disgorgement and a $15 million penalty.

“The conduct outlined by the SEC is contrary to our core values and clear policies, and if we identify such behavior, we will take appropriate action,” Oracle corporate communications vice president Michael Egbert said.

More:New Oracle campus expected to transform part of South Austin

Oracle is the second-largest software company in the world, with revenue of more than $42 billion in its most recently completed fiscal year. The company announced in December 2020 that it was moving its corporate headquarters from California to Austin.

Prior to that announcement, Oracle in 2018 opened a five-story, 560,000-square-feet campus overlooking Lady Bird Lake in Southeast Austin. At a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the time that facility opened, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison said he expected the corporate campus in Austin to grow to as large as 10,000 employees.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin-based Oracle pays $23 million to settle SEC bribery charges