December 9, 2013 (Shareholders Foundation) - An investor in shares of Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE:AVP) filed a lawsuit against certain directors and officers of Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE:AVP) over alleged breached their fiduciary duties that cost the company over $330 million and could cost more. The plaintiff alleges that violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by briberies and kickbacks in foreign countries cost Avon Products, Inc. over $330 million and could cost more if Avon Products is not changing its internal controls. The plaintiff claims that Avon Products, Inc is allegedly taking advantage of certain countries that are known to have less developed legal and regulatory frameworks, or cultures in which requests for improper payments are widely condoned”. The plaintiff says that certain defendants allowed the company to operate in those countries in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act without implementing and maintaining proper internal controls.

More specifically, the plaintiff alleges that certain defendants knew and /or should have known that Avon Products, Inc failed to implement adequate internal controls to prevent FCPA violations, that after FCPA violations were uncovered, the deficient internal controls at the company were not remedied, and that the company was failing to devise or implement internal controls to sufficiently identify, remedy or prevent Avon's compliance issues. Avon Products, Inc. disclosed in October 2008, that it had begun an investigation into possible FCPA violations in China in June 2008 and in April 12, 2010, Avon Products announced that four executives have been suspended in connection with an alleged bribery that began with the company's China operation as early as 2008.

On October 31, 2013, Avon Products, Inc announced the SEC rejected a $12 million settlement offer and instead proposed a settlement that includes monetary fines of a magnitude significantly great than the earlier offer. The plaintiff says that certain defendants have refused to act and the plaintiff now filed the lawsuit to correct the harm certain individuals have cause to Avon Products, Inc. On December 9, 2013, 2013, NYSE:AVP shares closed at $17.91 per share.