GM giants Monsanto has been fined $1.5 million for bribing an Indonesian official.

The US agrochemical giant admitted one of its employees paid the senior official two years ago, in a bid to avoid environmental impact studies being conducted on its cotton.

In addition to the fine, the company has also agreed to three years’ close monitoring of its business practices by the American authorities.

It said it accepted full responsibility for what it called improper activities. Monsanto, which has been at the forefront of the GM debate, also admitted paying bribes to a number of other high-ranking Indonesian officials between 1997 and 2002.

The company said it became aware of irregularities at a Jakarta-based subsidiary in 2001 and launched an internal investigation before informing the US Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission.