Lu Kaixin, the communications manager of Avery Dennison Asia Pacific, has admitted to local media that Avery Dennison China had bribed Chinese officials to win big orders from China.
On August 1, 2009, Chinese media reported that a global self-adhesive maker bribed local officials in China to win big orders. Following the report, Avery Dennison issued a statement on August 3 which said that several of its employees in China were involved in suspicious behavior and they had reported these employees' illegal doings to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and United States Department of Justice.
According to the information disclosed on the official website of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, since 2004, the Safe Retroreflective Sheeting Department of Avery Dennison China had gained two big orders in China by hiring former staff of the Ministry of Public Security's Transportation Management and Science Research Institute in Wuxi, Jiangsu province. It was said that the two contracts were about installing graphics on a total of 15,400 police cars and worth about USD677,500. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's data shows that Avery Dennison China planned to pay USD41,000 in bribes to Wuxi's Transportation Management and Science Research Institute when it was stopped by Avery Dennison Asia Pacific Company.
So far, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has accepted the self-adhesive maker's suggestion of paying a fine of USD200,000 and asked it to not to practice bribery in China or other regions.
Avery Dennison sells reflective material that is often used for printing, road signs and emergency vehicle signs in China via the Safe Retroreflective Sheeting Department; and Wuxi's Transportation Management and Science Research Institute is one of the official organizations in China that are responsible for certifying road products using this material.
