Ranbaxy was fined $500 million.
By Sreekanth A. Nair
The Tata Group was fined last week by a Wisconsin federal jury with $940 million trade secrets verdict for stealing information related to Epic Systems Corp.’s health care software.
This is not the first time an Indian company was being fined overseas. Several Indian companies have been fined over the years with hefty amounts, for various reasons.
Here’s a look at some of the Indian companies which have faced the brunt of the law overseas in recent years:
- Ranbaxy fined with $500 in the United States
In May 2013, Indian drug major Ranbaxy pleaded guilty to felony charges relating to the manufacture and distribution of certain adulterated drugs made at two of Ranbaxy’s manufacturing facilities in India and agreed to pay $500 million to the Food and Drug Administration.
The Food and Drug Administration identified some manufacturing defects at Ranbaxy’s plants in India and the US and found out that the company filed wrong data to the department.
Ranbaxy USA pleaded guilty to three felony FDCA counts, and four felony counts of knowingly making material false statements to the FDA. The generic drugs at issue were manufactured at Ranbaxy’s facilities in Paonta Sahib and Dewas, in India.
- Infosys fined with $34 million in the US
In the largest ever visa fine imposed by the US government, Indian IT company Infosys was fined with $34 million for violating the US immigration laws in October 2013.
The company allegedly placed workers in the US client companies using B-1 visa which is meant for business visitors attending meetings or conferences instead of H-1B visa which take more processing time and is more expensive.
- Ranbaxy fined with $11.64 million by EU
In June 2013, the European Union fined Indian Pharmaceutical company Ranbaxy and eight other companies for blocking the supply of cheap drugs to the market.
Ranbaxy was fined with $11.64 million (10.3 million Euros) for hindering the supply of a cheaper anti-depressant to the market. The European Commission, in a report on the pharmaceutical sector, found that the customers had to pay 20 percent more for the drugs due to the act of the companies.
- Hong Kong Central Bank fined State Bank of India with $1 million
Hong Kong Central Bank fined State Bank of India’s Hong Kong branch $1 million (HK$7.5 million) for violating the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing rules of the region in July 2015.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) found that State Bank of India (SBI) Hong Kong failed to implement some important anti-money-laundering checks between April 2012 and November 2013. HKMA also asked the bank to submit an independent report on the remedial actions the company was planning to take.
- Indiano Communications fined with $88,000 in the UK
Indiano Communications, an Indian telecom company was fined $88,000 (£75,000) for cheating customers using telephone calls and text messages. The Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services that regulates premium rate lines found that the company cheated tens of thousands of customers.
The company, along with five other companies, contacted customers and told them that they had won some prize. They told the customers to call a premium rate number that was charging as much as $1.76 a minute.