Alliance And Universal Seek to Move on

Source from:  Tobacco Reporter 08/13/2010

In commenting yesterday on the settlements reached by Alliance One International with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), Robert E. Harrison, the company's chairman and CEO, said Alliance was committed to the highest standards of conduct in all transactions in all of the jurisdictions where it did business. "In these cases, although occurring prior to our merger in May 2005, the conduct by those predecessor companies did not meet our standards and we believe it to be in the best interest of the company, our shareholders and our other stakeholders to put these issues behind us by means of these negotiated agreements," Harrison said. "As indicated in our agreement with the DOJ, we have co-operated fully throughout the course of this investigation and believe that since our merger we have demonstrated our complete commitment to conducting our business in accordance with the highest standards of legal and ethical conduct." As reported here on Monday, two foreign subsidiaries of Alliance pleaded guilty on Friday to violating various provisions of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), while, in a related matter, the DOJ filed FCPA charges against Universal Leaf Tabacos Ltda (Universal Brazil), a subsidiary of Universal Corp. On Friday, George C. Freeman, III, Universal's chairman, president and CEO, said Universal prided itself on conducting business with honesty and integrity. "These past payments were - and are - contrary to the policies and standards of Universal and its subsidiaries," he said. "We have absolutely no tolerance for this type of activity. Our Audit Committee conducted a rigorous and thorough investigation, we voluntarily reported this matter to federal authorities, and we have fully co-operated with federal authorities at each step of the investigation. We have since taken steps to strengthen our culture of ethical and legal compliance, and our efforts are supported by our operations around the world. Our regional management is fully committed to our culture." "Since its discovery of the conduct at issue, Universal has instituted remedial efforts, including updating and improving its internal controls and compliance resources, policies, and procedures," the company said in a note posted on its website. "The company has named a chief compliance officer, and its compliance program includes enhanced training of the company's employees, the expansion of existing programs, and formal due diligence programs." "Our aim," said Freeman, "is to continue to build on these improvements to our compliance program, and to maintain the high ethical standards and culture that our shareholders, our customers, and our employees expect. Conducting our business with integrity is essential to maintaining our status as the leader in our industry." Enditem