GE HealthCare said it is cooperating with reviews by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in China.
GE Healthcare disclosed the matter in a regulatory filing Tuesday. It said it voluntarily self-reported to the agencies beginning in 2018 regarding “tender irregularities and other potential violations of the FCPA relating to our activities in certain provinces in China.”
“We are fully cooperating with the reviews by these agencies and have implemented, and continue to implement, enhancements to our compliance policies and practices,” the company continued. “At this time, we are unable to predict the duration, scope, result, or related costs associated with these disclosures to the SEC and the DOJ. We also are unable to predict what, if any, action may be taken by the SEC or the DOJ or what penalties or remedial actions they may seek.”
GE Healthcare offered no further specific details. The company became independent in January after spinning off from General Electric.
General Electric was one of three companies being probed by the SEC for alleged bribes to Chinese government and hospital officials to sell medical equipment, according to a 2019 report from Reuters. In response to the report, GE said then it was unaware of any SEC investigation into its China operations.
In 2010, General Electric and two of its subsidiaries—Ionics and Amersham—agreed to pay $23.4 million as part of a settlement with the SEC regarding an alleged kickback scheme with Iraqi government agencies that was found to have violated the FCPA.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to clarify GE Healthcare spun off from General Electric in January 2023. The original report listed GE Healthcare as a subsidiary of General Electric.
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