Nordion Resolves 4-Year Anti-Corruption Investigation

On March 3, 2016, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accepted an offer in the amount of $375,000 from Nordion (Canada) Inc. (Nordion Canada) as civil penalty for resolution of an anti-corruption enforcement proceeding. While the quantum of penalty that Nordion Canada will pay is fairly low relative to recently imposed penalties by the SEC, disclosure documents filed by Nordion when it was a public company indicate that the internal investigation, co-operation with authorities and development of remedial measures cost in excess of $20 million in fees. In addition, the 2014 merger discussions undoubtedly were complicated by the ongoing investigation. This all would likely have been avoided by the establishment and maintenance of a robust anti-corruption compliance program and training.