Foreign subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway may have violated US sanctions on Iran.

Berkshire (BRKA) managed by  investor Warren Buffett voluntarily disclosed the conduct and has  agreed to  pay a $4.1 million settlement regarding the potential civil liability.

The Treasury Department said that between late 2012 and early 2016, Iscar Turkey, the Berkshire subsidiary, “knowingly engaged” in transactions with people subject to US sanctions on Iran, calling it an “egregious case. ”Senior management in the Turkish subsidiary “sought out business” in Iran with the “express purpose of building a foothold” in the market when it was prohibited from doing so, the Treasury quoted.
Iscar Turkey appears to have hid its conduct from Omaha, Nebraska,-based Berkshire Hathaway,  The Treasury also stated. In addition, the Treasury Department  continued to allege the subsidiary “demonstrated a pattern of conduct by knowingly engaging in prohibited dealings for approximately three years.”

Since Mr. Buffet voluntarily  disclosed the violations in May 2016 from  an anonymous tip four months earlier, officials were able to credit Berkshire as he did cooperate with the investigation and “replacing personnel complicit” in the conduct.