WPP to pay $19.2 million to resolve violations of anti-bribery laws

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Moreover, the Commission alleged that WPP’s subsidiary in Brazil made improper payments to purported vendors to secure or retain government contracts from 2016 to 2018. The subsidiary falsified its books and records to show that the vendors performed real services. The advertising group unlawfully gained $881,457 from the scheme, according to the SEC.

Its subsidiary in Peru allegedly acted as a conduit for a bribery scheme that resulted in an unjust profit of $291,935 in 2013. The bribery scheme involved a construction company funding the political campaign of the mayor of Lima. the subsidiary funneled funds through other WPP entities to conceal the source of funding for the mayor’s political campaign. WPP discovered its subsidiary’s role in the bribery scheme in 2019 when a Peruvian criminal proceeding highlighted the conduct.

In a statement, SEC FCPA Unit Chief Charles Cain said, A company cannot allow a focus on profitability or market share to come at the expense of appropriate controls.”