United Tech to pay $14 mln for illegal foreign payments

WASHINGTON: United Technologies Corp will pay $13.9 million to settle charges it made illegal payments or provided trips and gifts to officials from Azerbaijan, China, Kuwait, South Korea, Pakistan, Thailand and Indonesia in order to obtain business, the top U.S. securities regulator said on Wednesday.

The Connecticut-based company did not admit or deny the findings when it agreed to pay disgorgement and interest of around $10 million and a penalty of $4 million, the Securities and Exchange Commission said. The aircraft manufacturing company was charged for making illicit payments in its elevator and aircraft engine businesses.

“United Technologies’ subsidiary Otis Elevator Co. made unlawful payments to Azerbaijani officials to facilitate the sales of elevator equipment for public housing in Baku and as part of a kickback scheme to sell elevators in China,” the SEC said in a statement.

United Technologies, through its joint venture, also made payments to a Chinese sales agent in a bid to obtain confidential information from a Chinese official that would help the company win engine sales to a Chinese state-owned airline. The SEC's order also found that United Technologies improperly provided trips and gifts to various foreign officials through its Pratt & Whitney division and Otis subsidiary in order to obtain business. —Reuters/Monitoring Desk