L&T says audit panel to seek external expert’s help on alleged Cognizant bribery case

The SEC alleged that Cognizant authorised the construction firm to make two additional bribes totalling more than $1.6 million

Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T) has said its audit committee will seek assistance of an external expert to look into the bribery allegations related to IT firm Cognizant’s campus in India.

Last month, Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (CTS) had said it would pay $25 million to the United States (US) Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) to settle its India bribery charges.

It was alleged in a US SEC complaint that in 2014, a senior Tamil Nadu official demanded a $2 million bribe from the construction firm responsible for building Cognizant’s 2.7 million sq ft campus in Chennai.