Ahold, Ex-Execs Settle with Regulators WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ahold NV (AHLN.AS: Quote , Profile , Research ) , the Dutch grocery operator, and three former top executives have agreed to settle U.S. securities fraud charges related to massive overbooking of profits, the company and U.S. regulators said on Wednesday. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission declined to fine Ahold, saying the company cooperated fully with its investigation and has taken extensive remedial action, said Larry Byrne, a partner with White & Case, the New York law firm that represented Ahold. The company, the world's third-largest food retailer, agreed to a permanent injunction against future violations of securities laws. Cees van der Hoeven, former chairman and chief executive, and A. Michiel Meurs, former chief financial officer, agreed to be permanently barred from serving as director or officers of a public company as part of their settlements, the SEC said. Roland Fahlin, a former member of Ahold's audit committee, also settled with the SEC on reporting and bookkeeping charges, the commission said. Ahold and the three former executives settled without admitting or denying the allegations. The settlements are related to SEC allegations that Ahold overstated net income by roughly $829 million over almost a three-year period beginning in fiscal year 2000. The SEC said the company fraudulently inflated promotional allowances at its U.S. Foodservice subsidiary, improperly consolidated joint ventures through fraudulent side letters and committed other accounting errors and irregularities. U.S. Foodservice is the No. 2 food supplier to hotels and casinos in the United States. Ahold said in a statement that the settlement completely resolves the SEC's investigation of the company and its operating companies. "Ahold cooperated fully with the SEC in its investigation and has undertaken significant remedial actions in connection with the issues that were investigated," the company said. Thomas Fitzpatrick, attorney for Meurs, said his client agreed that the financial reports were incorrect under U.S. accounting rules but said they were correct under Dutch rules. Attorneys for van der Hoeven and Fahlin could not immediately be reached for comment. The SEC said it will continue to pursue its case against Jan Andreae, a former executive vice president also charged with fraud. The company still faces a class action suit, an investigation by the U.S. Justice Department and a suit by Dutch shareholder group VEB. (Additional reporting by Brad Dorfman in Chicago and Christopher Borowski in Amsterdam.) Quelle "Ahold, Ex-Execs Settle with Regulators" : reuters.com Main page for "Ahold, Ex-Execs Settle with Regulators"