Bosch agrees to pay $36M as DOJ declines prosecution in export case
by Darryl Coote · UPIJune 18 (UPI) -- German engineering and technology firm Bosch has agreed to pay a $36 million fine to resolve federal allegations that it exported restricted products and software to China's Huawei.
Federal prosecutors announced the agreement Wednesday, saying the Bosch resolution was the National Security Division's first declination under the Justice Department's new corporate self-disclosure policy. The company has agreed to forfeit the $11.4 million in profits it made in the alleged transactions, with a portion being credited against the fine.
As a result, the NSD has declined to prosecute the company.
"This declination reflects the clear benefits for companies that promptly disclose potential violations and fully assist in our investigations," Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg said in a statement.
"This first-of-its-kind decision by NSD highlights the important role of transparency in safeguarding U.S. technology and national security."
Federal prosecutors had accused Bosch of exporting more than $70 million worth of foreign-produced sensor products and software to China's tech giant Huawei and its affiliates from September 2020 to September 2024, without the required license or authorization from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security.
The Justice Department had alleged that the exports were conducted by Bosch through two of its non-U.S.-based subsidiaries in violation of Export Administration Regulations.
Bosch had voluntarily disclosed the violations and cooperated with the NSD's investigation, federal prosecutors said.
The department-wide corporate enforcement policy was announced in March. The Trump administration described it as a way to promote "uniformity, predictability and fairness in how it pursues white-collar cases."
It said the program was launched to "incentivize" companies to disclose misconduct and cooperate with Justice Department investigations.