On March 19, 2026, France’s Anti-Corruption Agency (“AFA”) announced that the Paris Judicial Court approved the terms of a Judicial Convention of Public Interest (“CJIP”) between the Parquet National Financier (“PNF”), France’s financial public prosecutor, and Balt USA. Balt USA is the U.S.-based subsidiary of Balt SAS, a medical device company based in France. Balt USA was accused by U.S. and French authorities of engaging in a scheme that included the payment of bribes to a government official who worked at a state-owned public hospital in France. The bribes were allegedly paid to persuade the hospital to purchase certain medical devices from the company. According to the PNF and the U.S. Department of Justice, Balt SAS voluntarily disclosed the misconduct to the French and U.S. authorities who were conducting coordinated investigations into the company’s conduct.
On the same day, Balt USA reached a parallel resolution with the DOJ in which the Department declined to prosecute Balt, and Balt agreed, among other things, to pay disgorgement of approximately $1.2 million – an amount that represents the Balt’s profits from the sale of endovascular embolization coils and ancillary products to the public hospital in France.
Under the terms of the CJIP, Balt agreed to pay a public interest fine of approximately €1.8 million ($2 million), which the PNF reduced by the amount of the payment to the DOJ. The CJIP also required Balt to implement a three-year compliance program under the review of AFA – a remediation effort that Balt SAS agreed to contribute a maximum amount of €700,000.
AFA Press Release | DOJ Press Release