The U.S. securities regulator on Thursday fined Exelon and its subsidiary $46.2 million and filed a lawsuit against a former executive in connection with an alleged multi-year scheme to corruptly influence and reward a former Illinois politician, according to Reuters.
Exelon's public utility subsidiary Commonwealth Edison Company, or ComEd, arranged for associates of former Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives Michael Madigan to get jobs, subcontracts and payments from 2011 to 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said in a statement.
The regulator filed a lawsuit against ComEd's former CEO Anne Pramaggiore in federal court in Illinois.
ComEd in 2020 agreed to a deal with criminal authorities in which the firm acknowledged the bribes resulted in benefits of more than $150 million, the SEC said.
The company has since "successfully exited" that agreement, an Exelon spokesperson said in a statement.
"Exelon has substantially enhanced its compliance program and corporate governance by putting in place additional policies, controls, oversight and employee training aimed at preventing the prior conduct from happening again," the spokesperson added.
The SEC's lawsuit against Pramaggiore alleges that she participated in, and at times directed, the scheme. Regulators also claim she misled investors by saying the bribes were part of legitimate lobbying activity.
A lawyer for Pramaggiore declined to comment. A lawyer for Madigan did not respond immediately to request for comment.
