By Ryan Hanrahan
Bloomberg’s Nicola M White, Erin Ailworth, and Isis Almeida reported that “Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. agreed to pay $40 million to settle a two-year federal investigation into the crop giant’s accounting practices that rocked its share price and eroded faith in the company’s transparency.”
“The civil penalty levied by the US Securities and Exchange Commission settles allegations that ADM and former executives engaged in accounting and disclosure fraud when they sought to boost the bottom line of ADM’s flailing nutrition business unit to meet the Chicago-based company’s targets,” White, Ailworth and Almeida reported. “ADM neither admitted nor denied the SEC’s allegations, which regulators detailed late Tuesday. The company also said the Department of Justice has closed its investigation without taking further action.”
“The settlement caps a turbulent period for ADM, during which it lost market share, twice revised its financial statements and dismissed its chief financial officer,” White, Ailworth and Almeida reported. “Chief Executive Officer Juan Luciano also faced criticism as the company grappled with the fallout from the accounting issues.”