航空公司正在调查向政府官员提供免费机票和升舱服务是否违反美国海外反腐败法（FCPA）

Avianca Holdings SA is investigating whether it violated U.S. foreign bribery law by giving free tickets and upgrades to government officials.PHOTO: NICOLO FILIPPO ROSSO/BLOOMBERG NEWS

Latin American airline group Avianca Holdings SA is investigating whether it violated U.S. foreign bribery law by giving free tickets and upgrades to government officials.

拉美航空集团哥伦比亚航空(Avianca Holdings SA, AVH)正在调查向政府官员提供免费机票和升舱服务是否违反了美国的海外反腐败法。

Avianca Holdings, which is based in Panama, said in a securities filing that it notified the U.S. Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission about the probe and was cooperating with the agencies. It also notified Colombia’s financial superintendent through the country’s securities exchange, where the airline group also is listed.

总部位于巴拿马的哥伦比亚航空在一份证券监管机构备案文件中说，该公司已将这项调查告知美国司法部和美国证券交易委员会(Securities and Exchange Commission, 简称SEC)，目前正与这两家机构合作。该公司还通过哥伦比亚证券交易所告知了该国的财政主管部门。该公司同时也在哥伦比亚证交所上市。

The group said the travel benefits were given to officials by employees that may have included senior management, as well as certain members of its board.

哥伦比亚航空表示，上述旅行福利是由员工提供给官员的，这些员工可能包括高级管理层以及某些董事会成员。

A spokeswoman for Avianca Holdings said the company had implemented additional controls to avoid similar conduct in the future, including by strengthening its internal approval processes.

哥伦比亚航空的一位发言人无法在正式公布前提供有关这项调查的进一步声明。

The probe could raise a somewhat novel issue under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits companies with ties to the U.S.—including those such as Avianca Holdings that are listed on a U.S. stock exchange—from bribing foreign government officials to gain a business advantage.

根据美国《海外反腐败法》(Foreign Corrupt Practices Act)，这项调查可能会引发一个新问题，该法禁止与美国有关联的企业，包括哥伦比亚航空这样的在美国证券交易所上市的公司，通过贿赂外国政府官员获得商业优势。

The Justice Department and SEC have reached settlements in the past with companies that provided free travel to foreign officials. The agencies also have settled with a foreign airlinethat bribed union officials to secure a favorable labor contract.

美国司法部和SEC过去曾与向外国官员提供免费旅行的公司达成和解。这两家机构还曾与一家外国航空公司达成了和解，该航空公司曾向工会官员行贿，以获得一份有利的劳工合同。

But the investigation into Avianca Holdings could be the first public instance of a company considering whether free and discounted tickets and upgrades offered by an airline could qualify as a bribe under U.S. foreign bribery law.

不过，对哥伦比亚航空的调查可能是第一个公开案例，探讨按照美国海外反腐败法规定，航空公司向政府官员提供免费或打折机票和升舱服务是否构成腐败。

Dylan Tokar

Updated Aug. 16, 2019 6:33 pm ET

（本文版权归道琼斯公司所有，未经许可不得翻译或转载。）

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