By Ryan Hanrahan
Bloomberg’s Nicola M White, Erin Ailworth, and Isis Almeida reported that “Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. agreed to pay $40 million to settle a two-year federal investigation into the crop giant’s accounting practices that rocked its share price and eroded faith in the company’s transparency.”
“The civil penalty levied by the US Securities and Exchange Commission settles allegations that ADM and former executives engaged in accounting and disclosure fraud when they sought to boost the bottom line of ADM’s flailing nutrition business unit to meet the Chicago-based company’s targets,” White, Ailworth and Almeida reported. “ADM neither admitted nor denied the SEC’s allegations, which regulators detailed late Tuesday. The company also said the Department of Justice has closed its investigation without taking further action.”
“The settlement caps a turbulent period for ADM, during which it lost market share, twice revised its financial statements and dismissed its chief financial officer,” White, Ailworth and Almeida reported. “Chief Executive Officer Juan Luciano also faced criticism as the company grappled with the fallout from the accounting issues.”
Reuters’ Karl Plume and Chris Prentice reported that “the SEC on Tuesday separately sued ADM’s former Chief Financial Officer Vikram Luthar for his role in the allegedly fraudulent adjustments and filed settled charges against two other top executives.”
“The SEC settlement includes charges brought against former Nutrition business unit President Vince Macciocchi and Ray Young, who was ADM’s CFO until 2022. Macciocchi has agreed to pay more than $529,000 in fines and other fees, while Young will pay more than $650,000,” Plume and Prentice reported.
Source : illinois.edu