Larsen and Toubro Ltd. have announced that assistance of an external expert will be sought by its audit committee to look into the matter of bribery allegations related to US-based IT giant Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp.’s campus in India.
The bribery allegations involve around a 2014 U.S. SEC complaint when Cognizant’s former President Gordon Coburn and ex-Chief Legal Officer Steven E Schwartz authorised the payment of $2-million bribe to a senior Tamil Nadu official, for the construction of 2.7 million sqft campus in Chennai.
As per the allegation, Cognizant asked L&T, which was one of its contractors, to facilitate the bribery along with other contractors. In last, CTS asked U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to settle its India bribery case through a $25 million settlement.
L&T in its recent regulatory filing said that the audit committee was presented with all details of its construction contracts with Cognizant by the management at the meeting held on February 27.
Larsen And Toubro also added, “While noting that there was no evidence of the involvement of the company or any of its executives as alleged based on information provided, the Audit Committee …decide the future course of action.”
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