$10M John Deere Bribery Settlement Underscores Risks of Not Integrating Acquisitions

The Securities and Exchange Commission said that in the three years after Deere bought Wirtgen Thailand, the unit plied government officials with cash, massage parlor visits and lavish sightseeing trips to Europe. regulator found Illinois-based John Deere failed to integrate Wirtgen Thailand, a former German outfit into its existing compliance and controls environment after acquiring Wirtgen Group in 2017, resulting in "bribery schemes going unchecked for several years," the SEC's FCPA division enforcement chief Charles Cain said in a statement. "This action is a reminder for corporations to promptly ensure newly acquired subsidiaries have all the necessary internal accounting control processes in place."