Cognizant Technology Solutions to pay around $28 million to the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to resolve the case relating to permits and licenses for certain real estate facilities in India violating the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other applicable laws.

The amount to be paid to the US regulatory requirements authorities is consistent with the accrual previously recorded by the US-based IT company, which has over 75 per cent of its employees in India.

This resolves all of the DOJ and SEC investigations into the company concerning the matter. Citing the company’s voluntary and self-reporting, comprehensive investigation, compliance enhancements, and significant cooperation, the DOJ declined to take any further action against the company, says a press release from Cognizant.

On September 30, 2016, Cognizant said that it started an internal investigation into whether certain payments relating to facilities in India were made improperly, and in possible violation of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other applicable laws. It voluntarily notified the DOJ and SEC on the investigation. On the same day, the company announced the resignation of its president, Gordon Coburn.

Francisco D’Souza, Vice Chairman and CEO of Cognizant, said that the company voluntarily and promptly notified US authorities of the potential issues in India more than two years ago, and cooperated extensively with their investigations. “We undertook a comprehensive internal investigation under the oversight of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, with the assistance of outside counsel. We have also made further enhancements to our compliance processes, procedures and resources. It is important to note that this entire matter did not involve our work with clients or affect our ability to provide the quality services our clients expect from us,” he said in the release.

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