Bbabo NET

Economics & Business News

Olympus U.S. unit will pay $646 million for bribes

The U.S. unit of Japan’s camera and hospital equipment maker Olympus agreed to pay $646 million Tuesday to settle charges it gave hospitals and doctors kickbacks to buy its endoscopes, reports The Japan Times.

To boost its sales, Olympus Corp. of the Americas gave free trips to Japan to doctors who got their hospital to buy Olympus equipment; it gave a financial grant to another hospital in exchange for a sale; and it blocked a grant to another hospital until it agreed to buy Olympus equipment, the U.S. Justice Department said.

A unit of OCA engaged in similar behavior in Latin America as well, the department said.

It said the kickback practices between 2006 and 2011 helped the company obtain more than $600 million in sales and $230 million in profits.

The company was charged in a criminal complaint Tuesday with violating anti-kickback laws and the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

Olympus U.S. unit will pay $646 million for bribes