)
“In response to reports attributed to Justice Department officials, Infosys is in the process of completing a civil resolution with the government regarding its investigation of visa issues and I-9 documentation errors. The resolution has not been finalized,” India's second largest information technology (IT) services firm said on Tuesday.
As per a report published by The Wall Street Journal, the US Attorney's office is finalising a civil agreement with Infosys, and a resolution in the case may be announced on Wednesday.
The U.S. Justice department and the Homeland Security Department have been investigating Infosys' visa practices for over two years. The investigation was prompted by allegations that Infosys had improperly used business travel documents to place Indian employees on temporary positions in American companies.
Earlier this month, Infosys had made a provision of Rs. 219 crores for “visa related matters”. The provisioned includes legal costs associated with the probe, the company had said.
In a statement the company had said, “Infosys is engaged in discussions with the US Attorney's office and other government departments regarding a civil resolution of the government's investigation into the company's compliance with Form I-9 requirements and past use of B-1 visas. Based on the status of those discussions, Infosys has set aside a reserve of $35 million including legal costs. Because the discussions are ongoing, Infosys cannot provide additional details at this time.” More details are awaited on this matter.
Observers, however, are of the view that Infosys may not necessarily need to spend the entire provisioned amount towards the settlement. Some even believe that the settlement amount may be lesser than stated in reports.
