WPP PLC updates
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U.S. regulators say WPP, the world’s largest advertising agency, bribes Indian authorities and engages in “other evils” in some of the upcoming markets.
Securities and Exchange Agency He said On Friday the London-based company agreed to pay $ 19m to settle charges that violated the US Fraud Prevention Law.
The FTSE 100 company has “failed to respond promptly or adequately to repeated signs of corruption or failure to improve” in some foreign agencies, the SEC said. WPP did not endorse or deny the findings.
In India, the WPP subsidiary has paid a $ 1m bribe to officials to acquire and maintain a state-owned enterprise, which adds value by $ 5m between 2015 and 2017, the SEC said.
In China, the aid company has also made “unreasonable payments” related to tax research, the SEC said. He also said the WPP group in Brazil committed “unfair compensation” in accordance with the government agreement between 2016 and 2018.
The aid company in Peru, according to the SEC, secured funding in 2013 through other WPP agencies “to hide the source of political funding” in the country.
The SEC said WPP followed a growing “aggressive” approach that gained interest in advertising businesses in high-risk markets.
He also said that the UK-based group, led until 2018 by founder Sir Martin Sorrell, has failed to ensure that these institutions adhere to sound financial and regulatory frameworks. Instead, it allowed founders and business executives who found themselves “to be able to stand on their own two feet and lead”.
WPP said the SEC’s findings relate to “improving the complexity and acquisition and consolidation of companies in vulnerable markets until 2018. As mandated by the commission, the new WPP leadership has established new procedures for tracking, regulating procurement, efficiency and efficiency. The committee will deal with the perpetrators. ”