Delta & Pine Co. (a cotton seed producer) has reached a settlement with the SEC to pay $300,000 over charges that it illegally bribed Turkish government officials in order to get documentation that reportedly would allow the company to operate in the country.

According to the SEC, Delta & Pine (which has since been acquired by Monsanto) paid $43,000 to officials of the Turkish Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs via its subsidiary Turk Deltapine between 2001 through 2006. The SEC ruled that these payments were in violation of the FCPA, and that Delta & Pine did not keep accurate books and records in connection with the improper payments.

Commentary: Under the FCPA, it is accepted to make ‘facilitation’ payments of a reasonable size in order to secure a ‘routine’ government action. For example, a small ‘facilitation’ payment in order to get a business license expedited (as it appears was necessary here) or to get something cleared through customs, is not necessarily illegal. The law does not specifically list a dollar threshold at which point an allowable ‘facilitation’ payment becomes a bribe. However, $43,000 clearly is not small – thus why the SEC took issue with it.