Oracle fined for bribing officials in three countries including Turkey

American multinational computer technology corporation Oracle was fined $23 million for bribing officials in Turkey, India and United Arab Emirates (UAE) for business.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the United States announced that Oracle was required to pay $23 million to resolve charges regarding its violation of provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) when "subsidiaries in Turkey, the UAE, and India created and used slush funds to bribe foreign officials in return for business between 2016 and 2019."

"Oracle subsidiaries in Turkey and UAE also used the slush funds to pay for foreign officials to attend technology conferences in violation of Oracle policies and procedures," the SEC's order said.

The order found that in some instances, employees of the Turkey subsidiary used these funds for the officials’ families to accompany them on international conferences or take side trips to California.

The SEC previously sanctioned Oracle in connection with the creation of slush funds. In 2012, Oracle resolved charges relating to the creation of millions of dollars of side funds by Oracle India, which created the risk that those funds could be used for illicit purposes.