高通因不当聘用中国官员亲属受罚

Qualcomm has reached a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations that it improperly hired the relatives of Chinese officials as it sought to do more business in the country that is its biggest market.

高通(Qualcomm)就不当聘用指控与美国证交会(SEC)达成和解，和解金为750万美元。高通被指不当聘用中国官员亲属，以求在中国这个它最大的市场获得更多业务。

The settlement describes the company improperly paying for lavish junkets, golf outings, luxury gifts and airline tickets for the children of government officials.

和解协议称，高通不恰当地为中国政府官员子女的奢华旅行、高尔夫活动、高档礼品以及机票买单。

The $7.5m settlement covers the decade until 2012 and painted a picture of a company that was trying hard to woo Chinese officials amid an uncertain regulatory environment. Qualcomm did not admit or deny wrongdoing.

这项和解涵盖的是直至2012年的十年里发生的事情，和解协议还描绘了高通在不确定的监管环境中努力讨好中国官员的情形。高通未承认也未否认自己有不当行为。

Qualcomm relies on China for around half its revenues, and during the last several years its business there has faced setbacks. Qualcomm says Chinese customers underpaid on their royalty agreements in 2014 and 2015, hurting its revenues. Last year Qualcomm settled an antitrust investigation in China, agreeing to a fine of around $1bn.

高通一半左右的收入仰仗中国，过去几年间其中国业务屡受挫折。高通表示，由于2014年和2015年中国客户未足额支付专利费，其收入受到拖累。去年，高通在中国了结了一项反垄断调查，同意支付约10亿美元罚款。

The practice of hiring interns who are related to Chinese officials is not uncommon among western firms as they seek to navigate China’s challenging regulatory environment. A string of SEC investigations has been focused on companies where this practice was common, including JPMorgan, whose “sons and daughters” programme helped place officials’ relatives at the company.

在西方企业当中，聘用中国官员亲属作实习生的做法并不罕见，因为它们试图以此来在中国富有挑战的监管环境中获得顺利发展。美国证交会对那些普遍存在此类做法的公司发起了一系列调查，其中包括摩根大通(JPMorgan)，其“子女”计划帮助多名官员亲属进入该公司任职。

Last month, HSBC said it was under investigation by the SEC over its hiring of people linked to Asian governments.

上个月，汇丰(HSBC)表示，它正就聘用与亚洲政府有关系的人员接受美国证交会的调查。

The SEC settlement reveals an unusual level of detail about Qualcomm’s involvement with officials and their offspring. In one case, the company paid $75,000 for an academic research grant to help the son of an official complete his PhD programme; later a Qualcomm executive personally lent $70,000 to that same individual to help him buy a house. This individual was also hired by Qualcomm, despite the fact that people who interviewed him said “he would be a drain on teams he would join”.

美国证交会与高通的和解协议对高通与中国官员及其子女交往情况的披露异乎寻常的详细。比如，高通曾支付一笔7.5万美元的学术研究经费，以帮助一名官员的儿子完成他的博士项目；一名高通高管随后又以个人名义借给他7万美元，帮他购买房子。高通后来还聘用了他，无视面试人员所作的“他会拖累所在团队”的评价。

In another example, Qualcomm offered officials a deluxe Olympics hospitality package with a value of $95,000, although the company later rescinded these invitations due to concerns about violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

另一个例子是，高通向中国官员提供了价值9.5万美元的豪华奥运招待礼包，尽管该公司后来因担心违反美国《反海外腐败法》(Foreign Corrupt Practices Act)撤回了这些邀请。

Don Rosenberg, Qualcomm general counsel, said: “We remain committed to ethical conduct and compliance with all laws and regulations, and will continue to be vigilant about [Foreign Corrupt Practices Act] compliance.”

高通总法律顾问唐•罗森堡(Don Rosenberg)表示：“我们仍致力于道德操守和遵守一切法律法规，并将继续留意合规（指遵守《反海外腐败法》）问题。”