Teva to Settle DOJ, SEC Foreign Bribery Charges for $519 Million

Teva will pay $519 million — the largest fine levied against a drugmaker for violating a foreign corruption law — to resolve international bribery charges involving business operations in the Ukraine, Russia and Mexico.

The settlement with the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission includes a guilty plea from the company’s subsidiary in Russia and a deferred prosecution agreement contingent on Teva’s cooperation with the federal investigators and the implementation of an independent compliance monitor. Teva will earmark $283.2 million of the criminal fine for the DoJ and $236 million for the SEC.

Company employees bribed high-ranking government officials in Russia and the Ukraine to influence the outcome of regulatory decisions related to the marketing and sales of Teva’s drugs, such as the multiple sclerosis therapy Copaxone, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the DoJ said. In Mexico, the Teva paid doctors to prescribe Copaxone since at least 2005. The misconduct spanned about a decade.