Monsanto fined $1.5m over Indonesia bribes 

By Jonathan Birchall in New York 
Published: January 6 2005 19:48 | Last updated: January 6 2005 19:48
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/42d799ac-6019-11d9-bd2f-00000e2511c8.html

Monsanto, the agrochemical company, is to pay $1.5m in penalties to the US 
government over a bribe paid in Indonesia in a bid to bypass controls on 
the screening of new genetically modified cotton crops. 
 
According to a criminal complaint by the Department of Justice on Thursday 
under US anti-bribery laws, the company paid $50,000 to an unamed senior 
Indonesian environmental official in 2002, in an unsuccesful bid to amend 
or repeal the requirement for the environmental impact statement for new 
crop varieties. 

The cash payment was delivered by a consultant working for the company's 
Indonesian affiliate, but was approved by a senior Monsanto official based 
in the US, and disguised as consultants fees. 

The company also admitted that it had paid over $700,000 in bribes to 
various officials in Indonesia between 1997 and 2002, financed through 
improper accounting of its pesticide sales in Indonesia. 

As part of the agreement with the DoJ and the Securities and Exchange 
Commission, Monsanto has also pledged to appoint independent consultants 
to review its business practices over a three year period, when the 
criminal charges against it would be dropped permanently by the DoJ. 

Christopher Wray, assistant US attorney general, said in a statement 
that the agreement required Monsanto's full cooperation and acceptance 
of responsibility for the wrong-doing. "Companies cannot bribe their 
way into favorable treatment by foreign officials," he said. 

Monsanto's general counsel Charles Burson said that "Monsanto accepts 
full responsibility for these improper activities, and we sincerely 
regret that people working on behalf of Monsanto engaged in such 
behavior". 

Monsanto said it had first become aware of financial irregularities in 
its Indonesian affiliates in 2001, and had begin an an internal 
investigation, which continued at the direction of its board of directors. 

The company also said it had voluntarily notified US government officials 
of the results of this investigation, and had fully cooperated with the 
investigations by the DoJ and the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

The attempt to circumvent environmental controls on genetically-modified 
crops in a developing country is a significant embarrasment for Monsanto, 
which is engaged in an ongoing campaign to win public support in the 
European Union for its genetically modified crops.