SEC prepares civil charges against Mondelez in Cadbury probe - WSJ

(Reuters) - The Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing to file civil charges against Oreo cookies maker Mondelez International Inc in connection with a long-running investigation of payments its Cadbury unit made in India, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Mondelez is unlikely to face any criminal bribery charges under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act because no evidence has emerged connecting suspicious payments to the United States, the Journal said, citing one of these people.

Prosecutors haven't ruled out other charges, the newspaper quoted the person as saying. (http://on.wsj.com/1jw330I)

The parties are in settlement talks but any deal could still fall apart, the report said.

Mondelez and SEC were not immediately available to comment.

(Reporting by Subrat Patnaik in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)