US Company Accepts Responsibility for Indonesian Bribe

American agriculture company Monsanto has agreed to pay $1.5 million in penalties for trying to bribe an Indonesian official over environmental regulations.

Monsanto announced the settlements Thursday with the U.S. Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A statement by the company accepts responsibility for a manager's offer of a $50,000 bribe to an Indonesian official in 2002 to lift a requirement for an environmental impact study for Monsanto to grow genetically-modified crops on Indonesian soil. The manager later falsely listed the expense as a consultant's fee. The requirement was never waived.

In addition to the penalties, Monsanto agreed to an audit by an independent compliance expert. It also promised to put internal compliance measures into place and to cooperate with ongoing investigations.

Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.