Ciena Corporation reported in a September 9, 2019 filing with the US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) that the SEC staff did not intend to recommend enforcement action against Ciena.
In 2017, Ciena disclosed that it had voluntarily contacted the SEC and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to advise them that it had conducted an investigation into allegations raised by a third-party vendor about certain questionable payments made by Ciena to one or more individuals employed by a Ciena customer in a country in the ASEAN region. Ciena also disclosed that its investigation had corroborated that Ciena had made direct and indirect payments to one such individual and was seeking to determine whether the payments may have violated the FCPA and potentially other applicable laws and regulations. In 2018, the DOJ advised Ciena that it had closed its investigation and was declining to prosecute the matter. On September 9, 2019, the SEC also closed its investigation and informed Ciena that its staff did not intend to recommend enforcement action.