Drug firm Pfizer has paid the US government 60 million dollars to settle charges alleging it paid millions of dollars in bribes to build its business in Europe and China.
According to court filings, employees made the payoffs to secure sales contracts for Pfizer products.
The US drugs giant has not admitted any guilt.
The countries involved are Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Italy, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Serbia.
The Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, said Pfizer officials had not been aware of the payments, and its good co-operation over the charges meant there was no need for criminal prosecution.
Pfizer first disclosed the misconduct to the SEC and Justice Department officials in October 2004, and cooperated with the government's investigation.
The charges against Pfizer were brought under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bars publicly traded companies from bribing officials in other countries to get or retain business.
In the past five years, the Justice Department has investigated a number of pharmaceutical and medical device companies that operate overseas in connection with the law.
Last year, Johnson and Johnson agreed to pay 70 million dollars to settle civil and criminal charges of bribery brought by the Department of Justice.
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