We have been, are currently, and may in the future be subject to various lawsuits, stockholder derivative actions, class action lawsuits, individual or mass arbitration proceedings, and other types of legal proceedings, as well as other disputes, claims, and regulatory or governmental inquiries and investigations, including with regard to contract or commercial disputes, consumer protection, privacy, data protection, intellectual property, tax, employment, and corporate governance, among other matters.
In addition, the circumstances underlying the legal proceeding related matters discussed continue to create the risk of additional litigation and claims by investors and examinations, investigations, proceedings and orders by regulatory authorities. These include a broad range of potential actions that may be taken against us by the SEC or other regulatory agencies, including a cease-and-desist order and/or the assessment of possible civil monetary penalties.
For example, the Company received a subpoena from the SEC requesting the production of documents relating to certain customers, including one customer that is the subject of the allegations in the Indictment, and the Company’s controls and procedures. We are cooperating with the SEC’s requests, but we cannot predict the scope, duration, or outcome of this matter, and the SEC may issue additional subpoenas or other information requests.
The Company also received a grand jury subpoena from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York seeking documents and information relating to the individuals and facts referenced in the Indictment, as well as the Company’s compliance program and internal controls, and related issues. The Company has also received other subpoenas, and inquiries from the Department of Justice, the Office of Export Enforcement (“OEE”) of BIS, as well as foreign authorities requesting documents and information relating to certain other customers. The Company has not been informed that it is the target of any of these investigations to date, but if we become the target of any of these investigations, the Department of Justice could pursue civil or criminal enforcement actions against us, seek monetary or other penalties from us (including disgorgement), or require changes to our compliance program and internal controls.
In connection with the indictment of three former associates, the Company completed an independent investigation, which was jointly led by our Lead Independent Director and the Chair of the Board’s Audit Committee. The independent investigation was conducted by Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, and it engaged AlixPartners LLP as an independent forensic accounting consultant (collectively, the law firm and the accounting consultant are referred to as the “Independent Advisors”). The results of the investigation were reported to the entire Board. The investigation reviewed the customer transactions that were the subject of the Indictment, as well as transactions with a selection of other customers that purchased restricted products. The investigation did not find any evidence that any current member of senior management had knowledge of the alleged diversion scheme or of any actual diversion of restricted products by the Company. The investigation found no instance in which the Company directly sold export-controlled products to known restricted parties or locations, and found no basis for concluding that the Company’s previously issued financial statements could not be relied upon based on the potential diversion of restricted products. The investigation also concluded that the Company had developed and maintained its export compliance program as its sales of restricted products increased during the period under review, and found that the Company’s compliance personnel acted in good faith, with the support of management, to mitigate the risk of export-controlled products being diverted to restricted parties or locations. In connection with the internal investigation, the Company took personnel actions, including terminations, with respect to its sales, technical support and business development functions staff for violations of various company policies. With the assistance of the Independent Advisors, the independent directors made recommendations to further enhance the Company’s export compliance program, which the Board has adopted in full and is in the process of implementing. Notwithstanding the conclusion of this internal investigation, the government investigations and inquiries described above and below remain ongoing, are not bound by the conclusions of the internal investigation, and could result in enforcement actions, penalties, fines or other adverse consequences to the Company. In addition, although the Company has taken the measures described above and adopted the Independent Advisors' recommendations in full, there can be no assurance that such measures will be effective in preventing similar circumstances from arising in the future or that the Company will not become subject to similar lawsuits, legal proceedings, disputes, claims, government inquiries or investigations.
If we fail to meet our contractual commitments or otherwise fail to comply with our contractual obligations, then we could be subject to breach of contract or other claims. Any claims, proceedings, individual or mass arbitration demands, or inquiries or investigations initiated by or against us, whether successful or not, may be time-consuming, subject us to damage awards, regulatory orders, consent decrees, injunctive relief, fines, or other penalties or sanctions, require us to change our policies or practices, result in increased operating costs, divert management’s attention, harm our reputation, and require us to incur significant legal fees, other litigation costs and settlement costs, as well as other expenses. In addition, our insurance may not be adequate to protect us from all material expenses related to pending and future claims. Any of these factors could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.