In the Matter of Immucor, Inc. and Gioacchino De Chirico (September 27, 2007)
SEC v. Gioacchino De Chirico (N.D. GA 2007)

• Case Name
• In the Matter of Immucor, Inc. and Gioacchino De Chirico (September 27, 2007)
  SEC v. Gioacchino De Chirico (N.D. GA 2007)

• Date Filed
• 10/02/2007

• Enforcement Agency
• SEC

• Foreign Official
• The director of a public hospital in Milan, Italy.

• Date of Conduct
• 2004

• Nature of Business
• Immucor, Inc., a U.S. corporation, is a medical equipment company specializing in products used in the pre-transfusion diagnostics of human blood.  Gioacchino De Chirico, an Italian citizen and legal resident of the U.S., was the President and Chief Operating Officer of Immucor.  As of September 2009, he continues to serve as President and CEO.

• Influence to be Obtained
• In January 2002, Immucor Italia S.p.A., a wholly‑owned subsidiary of Immucor, sold blood testing units to Niguarda Hospital, a public hospital in Milan, Italy.  The associated contract included additional services that Immucor would provide to the hospital over time to assist in the usage of the equipment.  In 2003, De Chirico allegedly arranged for the director of Niguarda Hospital to chair a medical conference in Italy on the topic of an Immucor product and agreed to compensate the hospital director for his role at the conference in a method that would enable him to avoid paying income taxes. 
  
  According to the SEC, in 2004, Immucor Italia, acting through a sales agent, offered the hospital director a payment of 13,500 Euros to influence his decision to award a contract.  De Chirico allegedly authorized Immucor’s German subsidiary to pay 13,500 Euros to the hospital director through a Swiss bank account.  Immucor’s German subsidiary allegedly categorized the 2004 payment as a payment for consulting services, but no consulting services were rendered and the payment was, in fact, made in exchange for preferential treatment from the hospital director in selecting suppliers.

• Enforcement
• On September 27, 2007, Immucor and De Chirico consented to the SEC issuing a cease-and-desist order ordering them to cease from committing or causing any further violations of the books and records or internal controls provisions of the FCPA.  In addition, without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint, De Chirico consented to the district court of the Northern District of Georgia entering a final judgment against him on October 2, 2007 requiring him to pay a $30,000 civil penalty.

• Amount of the Value
• $16,119 (€13,500).

• Amount of Business Related to Payment
• Not Stated

• Intermediary
• Agent

• Citizenship of Parent Entity
• United States

• Total Sanction
• $ 30,000

• Compliance Monitor
• No

• Reporting Requirements
• No

• Case is Pending?
• No

• Total Combined Monetary Sanction
• $ 30,000

Immucor, Inc. 

• Citation
• In the Matter ofImmucor, Inc. & Gioacchino de Chirico,Admin. Proc. File No. 3-12846 (Sept. 27, 2007); 

• Date Filed
• 09/27/2007

• Filed Under Seal
• No

• FCPA Statutory Provision
• • Anti-Bribery
  • Books-and-Records
  • Internal Controls

• Other Statutory Provision
• None

• Disposition
• Cease-and-Desist Order

• Defendant Jurisdictional Basis
• Issuer

• Defendant's Citizenship
• United States

Gioacchino De Chirico

• Citation
• In the Matter ofImmucor, Inc. & Gioacchino de Chirico,Admin. Proc. File No. 3-12846 (Sept. 27, 2007); SEC v. De Chirico, No. 1:07-cv-2367 (N.D. Ga 2007).

• Date Filed
• 10/02/2007

• Filed Under Seal
• No

• FCPA Statutory Provision
• • Aiding and Abetting: Books-and-Records
  • Aiding and Abetting: Internal Controls
  • Books-and-Records
  • Internal Controls

• Other Statutory Provision
• None

• Disposition
• Cease-and-Desist Order, Complaint and Consent Order

• Defendant Jurisdictional Basis
• Issuer, Agent of Issuer

• Defendant's Citizenship
• Italy

• Individual Sanction
• $30,000