Cognizant Investigates Possible Violations of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act as President Resigns
| Courtesy Cognizant
Teaneck-based Cognizant Technology Solutions said that it was conducting an internal investigation to determine whether certain payments related to facilities in India violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, various media outlets reported.
The company was said to have voluntarily notified the U.S. Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission of its investigation.
The Indian Express reported that the problem revolves around improper payments for gaining permits and building licenses for some of Cognizant’s facilities in India.
Cognizant President Gordon Coburn resigned at the same time the investigation was announced. The Wall Street Journal said that “no reason was given for Mr. Coburn’s resignation, and the company didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on whether the resignation was related to the investigation.”
Rajeev (Raj) Mehta was appointed president in Coburn’s place. “Raj is a proven leader with strong client relationships forged over 20 years with the Company,” said CEO Francisco D’Souza in a statement.
“For the past decade Raj has been responsible for leading our market-facing teams in delivering industry-leading growth. He has a deep understanding of new technologies and new delivery models, and their potential to fundamentally transform businesses. I look forward to continuing to work closely with Raj in the coming years as we execute on our Cognizant 2020 strategy focused on helping our clients become digital enterprises.”
Cognizant is a provider of information-technology, consulting and business services. The company’s core competencies include: business, processing, operations, IT consulting, application development, systems integration, enterprise information management, application testing and maintenance, IT infrastructure services and business process services.
The company had approximately 244,300 employees worldwide as of June 30, 2016.
NJTechWeekly.com covered Cognizant in our September 2016 NJ TECH CORNER feature.
