SEC charges WPP plc advertising group with FCPA violations

Article summary

The United States' Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that the London-based WPP plc, the world's largest advertising group, has accepted charges amounting to more than $19m for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 1977 (FCPA) provisions of anti-bribery, books and records, and internal accounting controls. The SEC’s order finds that WPP implemented an aggressive business growth strategy, failing to ensure subsidiaries implemented the internal accounting and compliance controls, made structural deficiencies and failed to adequately respond to warning signs of corruption. WPP has neither admitted nor denied the SEC’s findings but agreed to stop and prevent violations of the FCPA provisions breached and to pay $10.1m in disgorgement, $1.1m in prejudgment interest and a penalty of $8m.