Greenwich lawyer pays $ 2 million bribe to Indian government for new Cognizant office complex accused by federal government



[ad_1]

A Greenwich lawyer conspired to pay a $ 2 million bribe to Indian government officials to pave the way for an office complex while he was the chief legal officer of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp, a federal indictment.

Steven Schwartz, 51, and Gordon Coburn, former president of Cognizant, 55, of Beaver Creek, Colo., Have approved the necessary approvals to build the necessary building permits, the US Attorney General said today. New Jersey, Craig Carpenito.

To cover the project, the couple and others "agreed that the third-party construction company would obtain the license by paying the illegal bribe and that Cognizant would reimburse the construction company through fake construction invoices at the end of the project "American lawyer said.

Subcontractors have obtained the necessary governmental order from Cognizant to obtain the permit, allowing the publicly traded technology company Fortune 200 to complete the development of the office campus and avoid millions of dollars in costs Carpenito said.

A few months later, the conspirators asked Cognizant – based in Teaneck, New Jersey, to pay more than $ 2 million to the construction company "disguised as cost overruns on the campus of offices ", did he declare.

The Ministry of Justice and Carpenito's office do not sue Cognizant as a corporation because of its "voluntary disclosure, voluntary cooperation and reparation", as well as the return of Cognizant to the Ministry and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States. the savings resulting from the corruption plan, "said Carpenito.

In all, Cognizant has agreed to pay the SEC a $ 25 million civil fine, refund and prejudgment interest, the US attorney said.

"Bribery, bribery and bribery have no legitimate place in US companies, and business executives who bribe foreign leaders to gain competitive advantage violate US law," said Carpenito.

Schwartz and Coburn were charged in a federal indictment of 12 counts of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), three counts of violation of the FCPA, seven counts of falsification of books and records and one bypass and failure conduct put in place internal accounting controls.

The two men were scheduled to appear before a US District Court Judge in Newark on Friday afternoon.

Carpenito attributed the investigation to the FBI's Newark office in Newark and thanked the SEC for its cooperation.

US Assistant Attorneys Courtney A. Howard and Nicholas P. Grippo, Trenton District Attorney in the New Jersey District, and Deputy Chief David A. Last of the Criminal Section Fraud Section of the DOJ.

Click here to sign up for free daily emails and Daily Voice news alerts.

[ad_2]

Source link