A Venezuelan subsidiary of a Spanish phone company will pay more than $85 million to resolve a U.S. Justice Department investigation into a scheme to bribe Venezuelan government officials, the department said Friday.
Telefónica Venezolana, a subsidiary of Telefónica S.A., bribed Venezuelan officials to participate in an auction that allowed it to get U.S. dollars in exchange for Venezuelan bolivars, Justice Department officials said.
Telefónica Venezolana bought equipment at inflated prices from suppliers, who then paid the bribes on its behalf in an attempt to hide the illegal scheme, prosecutors said.
