Bribery charges against the Ralph Lauren Corporation were unveiled today after investigators confirmed that a top executive in Latin America had made illegal payoffs to customs officials to circumvent local regulations.
Federal authorities hit the blue-chip clothier with more than $1.6 million in penalties.
Brooklyn federal prosecutors announced an agreement with the Ralph Lauren Corp., after detailing illicit payments made by an unnamed general manager who worked in the firm’s subsidiary in Argentina.
The firm acknowledged that the executive — who is a dual citizen of both the US and Argentina — violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by bribing customs officials in Argentina over a five-year period to help speed the clearance of goods through inspection.
Other illicit payments to corrupt customs officials in Argentina helped the Ralph Lauren Corporation move goods without submitting required paperwork, induced inspectors there to overlook prohibited items and at times, allowed for goods to be cleared without any inspection whatsoever, officials said.
The action by Brooklyn federal prosecutors parallels another related case against Ralph Lauren that also was unveiled today by the Securities and Exchange Commission, officials said.
The feds decided not to charge any executives personally after the firm cooperated with the criminal probe and pledged a wide range of reform measures, including ethics and anti-bribery training, officials said.
The firm has agreed to pay a $882,000 penalty to resolve the US Justice Department case, while it will hand over $734,846 in disgorgement and prejudgment interest in connection with the SEC case, officials said.
The agreement reached between the Justice Department and Ralph Lauren Corporation outlines how the firm’s conduct will be under close scrutiny for a two-year period and warns the company that future missteps or failure to disclose other past misconduct could open the door to criminal prosecution. The document also acknowledges that the firm is committed to strengthening its internal compliance controls.
In a statement released today, Ralph Lauren Corporation said that it had uncovered the wrongdoing and quickly reported it to federal authorities.
“When these issues surfaced at our subsidiary in Argentina, we took immediate action to hire outside counsel and forensic specialists to conduct an internal investigation and reported the matter directly to both the U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission. There was no evidence that the improper activity in Argentina was known or authorized by anyone outside of Argentina or that similar practices were occurring at other foreign operations,” the corporate statement said.
The company described the misconduct as an aberration that was not condoned by top executives.
“The conduct at the Argentina subsidiary was wholly inconsistent with the culture of compliance and integrity that we have worked diligently to establish and, as our reaction demonstrates, such conduct is not and will not be tolerated at Ralph Lauren Corporation,” the firm said.
mmaddux@nypost.com