Cisco is investigating activities in Russia that may have violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977. The investigation is at the request of the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a Cisco public filing.
Cisco first disclosed the investigation in a blog post in December, just two days before Christmas, and then again in the February filing. But the matter received little attention until now, according to the Wall Street Journal. In the February 20 10-Q filing, Cisco states:
At the request of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice, we are conducting an investigation into allegations which we and those agencies received regarding possible violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act involving business activities of Cisco's operations in Russia and certain of the Commonwealth of Independent States, and by certain resellers of our products in those countries. We take any such allegations very seriously and are fully cooperating with and sharing the results of our investigation with the Commission and the Department. While the outcome of our investigation is currently not determinable, we do not expect that it will have a material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. The countries that are the subject of the investigation collectively comprise less than two percent of our revenues.
The December 23 blog post, authored by Roxane Marenberg, vice president of Compliance Systems, similarly denied any wrongdoing on Cisco's behalf:
Despite the extensive investigation that we have undertaken thus far, we have found no basis to believe that Cisco's activities are in violation of any law, and indeed the information we were provided does not allege wrongdoing by any of Cisco's executive management.
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