September 12, 2016 (Shareholders Foundation) - An investor in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE:BMY) filed a lawsuit against certain directors of Bristol-Myers Squibb over alleged breaches of fiduciary duties.
The plaintiff alleges that Bristol-Myers Squibb illegally bribed Chinese officials to increase business and to line their own pockets.

In October 2015, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co reached a civil settlement with the Securities and exchange Commission (“SEC”) of alleged Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations in which the Company agreed to approximately $14.7 million in disgorgement, penalties and interest.

The plaintiff claims that upper management of Bristol-Myers Squibb in the U.S. first learned of the illicit payments in 2009 and allowed the practice to continue through 2012. The plaintiff alleges that annual internal audits exposed gaps in internal controls in connection with anti-bribery compliance and that the gaps were reported to Bristol-Myers' audit committee and senior management, however none of the information found its way into public statements.

The plaintiff alleges that he demanded that Bristol-Myers Squibb’s board take action against those responsible and against anyone who benefitted personally from the bribes, but he has received no response.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co reported that its annual Total Revenue rose from over $15.87 billion in 2014 to over $16.56 billion in 2015 while its Net Income declined from over $2 billion in 2014 to over $1.56 billion in 2015.

Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE:BMY) declined from $76.30 per share on August 1, 2016 to as low as $58.07 per share on August 17, 2016.