3M will pay more than $9.6 million to settle an investigation by the U.S. Treasury Department into sales to an Iranian entity controlled by Iran’s law enforcement forces.
The Treasur said that between September 2016 and September 2018, a 3M subsidiary allegedly sold reflective license plate sheeting to a sanctioned Iranian entity, police foundation Bonyad Taavon Naja. The sales occurred even after outside due diligence staff had flagged potential problems, OFAC said.
3M in response to the settlement said that the company in 2019 determined a small number of employees had committed these violations, but that it promptly disclosed the matter to the government and disclosed it in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that year.
3M last month agreed to pay more than $6.5 million to settle an SEC probe after marketing employees of a China-based subsidiary took healthcare officials on secret tourist excursions to the U.S. and Australia, in violation of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
JEFFREY NEWMAN IS A WHISTLEBLOWER LAWYER HANDLING CASES UNDER FINCEN, SEC AND CFTC WHISTLEBLOWER PROGRAMS AS WELL AS HEALTHCARE FRAUD CASES. HIS WEBSITE IS WWW.JEFFNEWMANLAW.COM
