Hewlett-Packard will pay $108 million and one of its subsidiaries will plead guilty to bribery charges over its role in a scheme to secure a contract with a Russian government office, the Justice Department said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. HP units in Poland and Mexico also resolved criminal charges related to contracts in those two countries, the department said. The Securities and Exchange Commission entered into a related settlement with the computing giant over allegations that its subsidiaries made improper payments to government officials in order to obtain contracts, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. HP's Russia subsidiary paid more than $2 million in bribes to obtain a contract with the federal prosecutor's office, the SEC said. In Poland, an HP unit provided gifts and cash worth more than $600,000 to obtain contracts with a national police agency, it said. And in Mexico, an HP subsidiary paid more than $1 million in inflated commission in order to seal a software deal with Mexico's state-owned petroleum company, the agency said. -- SPA 22:33 LOCAL TIME 19:33 GMT تغريد
