Editing 1976 Lockheed Bribery Scandal (section)

==Key Events of the Scandal==
Initial Revelations (1975)
Church Committee Investigation: In February 1975, the U.S. Senate’s Subcommittee on Multinational Corporations, chaired by Senator Frank Church, began investigating bribery by U.S. corporations abroad, prompted by Watergate’s exposure of corporate political influence. Lockheed’s practices came under scrutiny after whistleblower reports and internal audits surfaced.

Lockheed’s Admissions: Under pressure, Lockheed’s executives, including CEO Daniel Haughton and Vice Chairman Carl Kotchian, testified in August 1975, admitting to paying over $200 million in bribes and “consulting fees” to foreign officials since the 1950s. Kotchian detailed payments through intermediaries, often disguised as commissions, to secure contracts in Japan, Italy, the Netherlands, West Germany, Saudi Arabia, and other countries.

Document Leak: A 1975 internal Lockheed audit, leaked to the press, revealed coded accounts (e.g., “peanuts” for bribes) and payments to “consultants” like [[Adnan Khashoggi]] in Saudi Arabia and [[Yoshio Kodama]] in Japan. The Washington Post and The New York Times published excerpts, igniting global outrage.