• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary says if he were 25 today, he'd chase these two booming opportunities in the world of AI

2

Even as Elon Musk calls philanthropy ‘very hard,’ everyday Americans gave a record $617 billion—despite feeling the squeeze over the cost of living

3

The stock market is about to suffer a 'snapback' and will lose much of this year's gains as 'speculation is hitting extreme levels,' BofA warns

1

Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary says if he were 25 today, he'd chase these two booming opportunities in the world of AI

2

Even as Elon Musk calls philanthropy ‘very hard,’ everyday Americans gave a record $617 billion—despite feeling the squeeze over the cost of living

3

The stock market is about to suffer a 'snapback' and will lose much of this year's gains as 'speculation is hitting extreme levels,' BofA warns
TechFortune 500

U.S. Authorities Drop Investigation of IBM Activities in Poland

Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
July 27, 2017, 10:20 AM ET
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities & Exchange Commission have stopped looking into allegations that a former IBM employee broke the law by bribing a Polish official to win government contracts.

IBM disclosed the news in its latest 10-Q filing with the SEC.

The case—which surfaced more than five years ago—centered on Andrzej Machnacz, an IT official with Poland’s Interior Ministry, who allegedly took bribes from U.S. tech firms—including IBM, Oracle, and Hewlett Packard—in return for granting them government contracts, according to ProPublica and other reports.

Polish prosecutors charged that Machnacz got more than $1 million in cash and gifts in return for guiding government contracts to IBM (IBM), Oracle (ORCL), the pre-split Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), and Netline, a Polish company.

Related: IBM Awaits Payoffs on Big Bets

Such behavior runs afoul of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which forbids companies from bribing foreign officials in order to win business. The FCPA also mandates that companies accurately account for all such contracts.

At the time, IBM said it was cooperating with both the Polish Central Anti-Corruption Bureau and the relevant U.S. enforcement agencies.

Related: IBM Revenue Continues to Slide

Three years ago, HP paid a $108 million fine to the SEC and DOJ to settle charges of improper actions in Poland and three other countries. The status of the Oracle (ORCL) case is unclear, and Oracle declined comment. Oracle has settled similar issues, however. In 2012, for example, it agreed to pay the SEC $2 million to settle a bribery case in India, according to Business Insider.

In 2013, a federal judge approved IBM’s payment of a $10 million fine to resolve similar cases in South Korea and China. As is usually the case with these civil penalties, IBM neither admitted or denied the charges.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Here is the relevant text from page 44 of IBM’s 10-Q for its second quarter ending June 30, 2017:

In early 2012, IBM notified the SEC of an investigation by the Polish Central Anti-Corruption Bureau involving allegations of illegal activity by a former IBM Poland employee in connection with sales to the Polish government. IBM cooperated with the SEC and Polish authorities in this matter. In April 2013, IBM learned that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) was also investigating allegations related to the Poland matter, as well as allegations relating to transactions in Argentina, Bangladesh and Ukraine. The DOJ was seeking information regarding the company’s global FCPA compliance program and its public sector business. The company cooperated with the DOJ in this matter. In June 2017, the DOJ and the SEC each informed IBM that based on the information to date, they closed their respective investigations into these matters without pursuing any enforcement action against the company.

Asked for comment on the Polish matter, an IBM spokesman reiterated that the company cooperated in the investigation and said its “system of robust controls were important factors leading to this decision.”

About the Author
Barb Darrow
By Barb Darrow
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Exclusive: Xbox’s CEO on 3,200 layoffs, four studios cut, and her blunt warning that ‘we spread ourselves too thin’
Big TechMicrosoft
Exclusive: Xbox’s CEO on 3,200 layoffs, four studios cut, and her blunt warning that ‘we spread ourselves too thin’
By Sebastian HerreraJuly 6, 2026
3 hours ago
‘Our business today is not healthy’: 1,600 Xbox employees among the 4,800 laid off by Microsoft as it looks to ‘reset’ gaming division
Big TechMicrosoft
‘Our business today is not healthy’: 1,600 Xbox employees among the 4,800 laid off by Microsoft as it looks to ‘reset’ gaming division
By The Associated PressJuly 6, 2026
4 hours ago
EasyJet’s stock shows Castlelake bid is far from a done deal
InvestingEasyJet
EasyJet’s stock shows Castlelake bid is far from a done deal
By Kate Duffy and BloombergJuly 6, 2026
6 hours ago
Torsten Slok holds his hands apart as he speaks on stage.
AIProductivity
Top economist says AI just hasn’t delivered on the productivity hype—and it means a ‘painful repricing’ of markets is very possible
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 6, 2026
7 hours ago
In this photo illustration, a Microsoft logo is displayed on a smartphone with Artificial Intelligence (AI) symbols on the background.
AICFO Daily
Microsoft’s Frontier push aims to turn AI spending into measurable returns
By Sheryl EstradaJuly 6, 2026
7 hours ago
A businesswoman uses a smartphone in modern conference room.
NewslettersFortune Workplace Innovation
The tech attention crisis has hit the workplace. One company thinks AI is the cure
By Kristin StollerJuly 6, 2026
7 hours ago

Most Popular

Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary says if he were 25 today, he'd chase these two booming opportunities in the world of AI
AI
Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary says if he were 25 today, he'd chase these two booming opportunities in the world of AI
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezJuly 5, 2026
1 day ago
Even as Elon Musk calls philanthropy ‘very hard,’ everyday Americans gave a record $617 billion—despite feeling the squeeze over the cost of living
Success
Even as Elon Musk calls philanthropy ‘very hard,’ everyday Americans gave a record $617 billion—despite feeling the squeeze over the cost of living
By Preston ForeJuly 4, 2026
3 days ago
The stock market is about to suffer a 'snapback' and will lose much of this year's gains as 'speculation is hitting extreme levels,' BofA warns
Investing
The stock market is about to suffer a 'snapback' and will lose much of this year's gains as 'speculation is hitting extreme levels,' BofA warns
By Jason MaJuly 5, 2026
24 hours ago
Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs
Law
Egg companies made $1.22 billion in profit off a $6 carton — now they’re buying their way out of a price-fixing case with 53 million donated eggs
By Wyatte Grantham-Philips and The Associated PressJuly 2, 2026
4 days ago
Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998
AI
Meet the Zillennials: The luckiest micro-generation in the workforce, born between 1993 and 1998
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 3, 2026
4 days ago
Gen Z was 'jaded about employment before we ever entered the workforce'—now psychologists say the stare has hardened into something worse
Economy
Gen Z was 'jaded about employment before we ever entered the workforce'—now psychologists say the stare has hardened into something worse
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 6, 2026
13 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.