Avery Dennison Corp. has agreed to pay more than $500,000 in fines and other costs to settle a U.S. regulator’s claim it bribed foreign government officials to win contracts.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said the Pasadena label giant paid more than $30,000 for kickbacks, sightseeing trips and gifts to Chinese officials between 2002 to 2005, and made more than $50,000 in illegal petty cash payments to officials in several countries.
In one instance, SEC officials said an Avery subsidiary paid for gifts, sightseeing trips and kickbacks to Chinese government officials. In another case, a company Avery acquired in 2007 was accused of continuing to make illegal payments to customs or other officials in several foreign countries.
The company will return more than $300,000 with interest, and pay a $200,000 civil fine. In the settlement, Avery didn’t admit or deny the allegations.
“We discovered questionable actions on the part of a handful of employees, investigated and took disciplinary action, and reported the actions to the SEC and Department of Justice,” company spokesman David Frail told Bloomberg News. “The company does have a rigorous ongoing training and reporting process for compliance.”
Avery shares were up 11 cents, or less than 1 percent, to $29.70 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
