General Electric Still Using Third Party Agents to Interact with Foreign Governments After Bribery Settlement (NYSE: GE)

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) said on Wednesday that it is still making “limited” use of third-party agents to interact with foreign governments after settling allegations with U.S. regulators which alleged that some of G.E.’s partner intermediaries had bribed Iraqi officials under the “oil for food” program earlier in the decade.

A G.E. spokeswoman told the Financial Times that the conglomerate had “disciplined responsible employees who were involved [in the case], up to and including termination”. The spokeswoman declined to comment how many employees had been disciplined or at what point said discipline occurred.

The company said that it is continuing to make use of “limited” third-party agents, but has an initiative in place to reduce the number of intermediaries it makes use of. General Electric said that the agents have been screened and audited and can be fired for ethical violations.

Last week, G.E. paid $23.5 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle allegations that its subsidiaries had bribed Iraqi officials to win contracts under the United Nation’s Oil for Food Program between 200 and 2003. The SEC also alleged that a handful of agents in Jordan and Iraq helped G.E. subsidiaries secure contracts for medical and water purification equipment.

General electric neither admitted nor denied the SEC’s allegations, but only said that the conduct of the involved subsidiaries “did not meet our standards.”

General Electric Company (GE) is a diversified technology, media and financial services company. The Company’s products and services include aircraft engines, power generation, water processing, security technology, medical imaging, business and consumer financing, media content and industrial products.

Shares of General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) fell 0.19% on Friday ending at $16.12.