Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. has agreed to pay more than $26 million to the SEC for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by making improper payments to Chinese government officials to obtain outdoor advertising contracts.
The SEC has charged Newell Brands Inc. and its former CEO, Michael Polk, with misleading investors about their core sales growth and both agreed to settle the charges by paying financial penalties.
The SEC charged Exelon Corporation, Commonwealth Edison Company (ComEd), and former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore with fraud for a multi-year bribery scheme to influence Illinois House of Representatives Speaker Michael Madigan, with Exelon agreeing to pay a penalty of $46.2 million.
The SEC charged Spruce Power Holding Corporation, successor to XL Fleet Corp., with misleading investors about its revenue projections and has ordered them to pay an $11 million penalty.
Albemarle Corporation, a global specialty chemicals company based in Charlotte, agreed to pay more than $103.6 million to the SEC to settle charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by paying bribes for business.
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged accounting firm Prager Metis CPAs, LLC for violating auditor independence rules and aiding and abetting their clients’ violations of federal securities laws.
The SEC announced charges against 10 firms, resulting in a combined $79 million penalty and the firms must implement improvements to their compliance policies and procedures, for failing to maintain and preserve electronic communications.