Telefonica Brasil Pays $4.1 Million Fine in World Cup Ticket Case
10 Mayo 2019 - 5:51PM
Noticias Dow Jones
By Mengqi Sun
Telefonica Brasil S.A. agreed to pay a $4.1 million fine to
settle charges related to how it accounted for ticket purchases and
a hospitality program it hosted at major international soccer
tournaments, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said.
The regulator said the Brazilian subsidiary of Spanish
telecommunications giant Telefónica S.A. gave 2014 World Cup and
2013 Confederations Cup tickets to Brazilian officials who were
involved with, or in a position to influence, legislation,
regulatory approvals and business dealings involving the
company.
The SEC said Telefonica Brasil didn't accurately characterize
payments for tickets in its books and failed to adequately enforce
corporate antibribery and anticorruption policies. The regulator
charged the company with violating the books-and-records and the
internal accounting controls provisions of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt
Practices Act. Telefonica Brasil's American depositary receipts are
registered with the SEC and traded on the New York Stock
Exchange.
As part of the agreement, announced Thursday by the SEC,
Telefonica Brasil didn't admit or deny the regulator's
findings.
"Telefonica Brasil has a strong code of ethics, and the company
has continued to strengthen its compliance and anticorruption
program to help ensure its continued future compliance with all
applicable laws and regulations," the São Paulo-based company
said.
Telefonica Brasil in 2012 bought 1,860 tickets for the 2014
World Cup, according to the SEC. The $5.1 million purchase was
approved by an executive expense committee and the company recorded
the purchase in three installments -- twice as "publicity
institutional events" and once as "advertising and publicity," the
SEC said.
Paperwork seeking internal approval for the purchase didn't
mention that the tickets would be given to government officials,
according to the SEC. But it was known internally within the
company that some of the tickets would be given to government
officials, the regulator said.
Telefonica Brasil gave 194 World Cup tickets to 93 government
officials and paid for related hospitality, the SEC said. The
officials receiving tickets included Brazilian congressmen and
senators, mayors and personnel from foreign embassies who were
customers of the company, including an ambassador, according to the
SEC.
The total value of tickets and hospitality given to the
government officials was about $620,000, the SEC said.
Telefonica Brasil had a similar program for the 2013
Confederations Cup, to which company gave tickets and paid for
hospitality to about 34 government officials for a total value of
more than $117,000, according to the SEC.
Telefonica Brasil cooperated with the investigation by sharing
information from an internal investigation, the SEC said. The
company also took steps to improve its FCPA compliance, including
enhancing its internal accounting controls and adopting a new
anticorruption policy and compliance structure, according to the
agency.
Write to Mengqi Sun at mengqi.sun@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 10, 2019 18:36 ET (22:36 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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