Compliance & Ethics

Veloxis has agreed to pay more than $46 million to resolve criminal and civil liability tied to kickback schemes involving healthcare providers and specialty pharmacies, the Justice Department said Monday. The North Carolina drugmaker entered into a deferred prosecution agreement connected to a criminal conspiracy charge and agreed to settlements covering alleged false claims submitted to federal healthcare programs and failures to properly disclose payments to physicians.

Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection has found that AGCO and eight agricultural machinery dealers spent 11 years dividing the Polish market and exchanging pricing information, an arrangement that restricted farmers’ ability to obtain competing offers for tractors, combine harvesters and, for some brands, spare parts.

The Bundeskartellamt has imposed fines totaling approximately €60.3 million on companies it says spent nearly a decade deciding among themselves who would win contracts before public authorities had finished inviting bids. The authority concluded that the firms divided customers, coordinated prices, and exchanged cover bids in the market for Dünne Asphaltdeckschichten in Kaltbauweise, or DSK, a cold-applied asphalt surfacing technique widely used to extend the life of roads.

When Rome awarded contracts to Bird, Dott, and Lime to operate shared e-bikes and e-scooters across the city, the companies promised something beyond simply making vehicles available. Holders of the annual Metrebus public transport pass would also receive packages of free rides, extending the reach of the city's transit network beyond the bus stop or train station. It was one of the commitments that helped secure the concession.

The Malta Financial Services Authority has published a new strategy for financial crime compliance, and what stands out is not what it asks firms to do differently today. It is how the regulator intends to supervise them tomorrow.

The Justice Department says Complete Health Partners Holdings crossed the line between documenting illness and manufacturing reimbursement. The Jacksonville, Florida-based management services organization has agreed to pay $14.1 million to resolve allegations that it caused false diagnosis codes to be submitted to inflate Medicare Advantage payments between 2020 and 2023. The settlement resolves claims brought under the False Claims Act and does not include an admission of liability.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has secured a default judgment against Adamant Stone Limited after alleging the purported investment adviser built its regulatory profile on claims it could not support.