Avon settles over bribe probe

New York - US authorities have fined the international cosmetics seller Avon Products $135m to settle a corruption probe in China.

The global beauty supplier, known for its door-to-door and catalogue sales, bribed local officials with foreign travel and expensive trinkets such as Gucci bags and Louis Vuitton merchandise, the securities and exchange commission said in a statement.

The SEC said Avon had violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by failing to stop bribes to Chinese officials.

"The SEC alleges that Avon's subsidiary in China made $8m worth of payments in cash, gifts, travel and entertainment to gain access to Chinese officials implementing and overseeing direct selling regulations in China," the SEC said.

Avon was trying to be among the first to test the regulations and eventually received the first direct selling business license in China in March 2006, the SEC said.