Hitachi paying $19M to resolve 'improper' payments charges

WASHINGTON (AP) - Hitachi Ltd. has agreed to pay $19 million to resolve U.S. regulators' allegations that it inaccurately reported improper payments it made to South Africa's ruling party to win contracts to build power plants.

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the settlement Monday with the Japanese conglomerate.

The SEC says Hitachi paid $6 million to a front company for the African National Congress, South Africa's ruling party. Of that, $1 million in fees paid in a secret arrangement were masked as consulting fees in Hitachi's books, the agency said. Hitachi won two contracts to build power plants.

Tokyo-based Hitachi neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing in the settlement, which also imposed a permanent injunction against future violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Hitachi has a number of subsidiaries in the U.S.