SEC v. BellSouth Corp. (N.D. Ga. 2002)
Case Details
- Case Name
- SEC v. BellSouth Corp. (N.D. Ga. 2002)
- Countries
- Venezuela, Nicaragua
- Foreign Official
- Payments in the form of consulting and lobbying fees paid to the wife of the chairman of the Nicaraguan legislative committee.
- Date of Conduct
-
1997 to 2000
- Nature of Business
- Acquisition of a majority interest in a Nicaraguan telecommunications company by BellSouth (“BellSouth”) which has a wholly-owned subsidiary called BellSouth International (“BellSouth International”) and two Latin American subsidiaries: Telcel, C.A. (“Telcel”), a Venezuelan corporation, and Telefonia Celular de Nicaragua, S.A. (“Telefonia”), a Nicaraguan corporation.
- Influence to be Obtained
- BellSouth sought to have a law prohibiting foreign companies from obtaining a majority interest in Nicaraguan telecommunications companies repealed. BellSouth paid the wife of the chairman of the Nicaraguan legislative committee $60,000 in consulting and lobbying fees. In December of 1999, the foreign ownership provision was repealed and BellSouth exercised an option which enabled it to acquire 89% ownership of Telefonia. The chairman of the legislative committee played a significant role in the repeal of the foreign ownership provision.
- Enforcement
- On January 15, 2002, while neither admitting nor denying the SEC’s allegations, BellSouth entered into a cease‑and‑desist order relating to BellSouth’s Latin American subsidiaries, Telcel, and Telefonia. BellSouth also agreed to pay a civil penalty of $150,000.
- Amount of the Value
- $60,000.
- Amount of Business Related to Payment
- Not Stated
- Citizenship of Parent Entity
- United States
- Reporting Requirements
- No
- Total Combined Monetary Sanction
- $ 150,000
Defendants
BellSouth Corp.
- Citation
- SEC v. BellSouth Corp., No. 1:02 cv 00113 (N.D. Ga. 2002).
- Other Statutory Provision
- None
- Disposition
- Cease-and-Desist Order
- Defendant Jurisdictional Basis
- Issuer
- Defendant's Citizenship
- United States
