UPDATE 1-Diebold to pay $25 mln to settle SEC revenue probe

NEW YORK, May 4 (Reuters) - Diebold Inc (DBD.N), a maker of automated teller and electronic voting machines, on Monday said it will pay a $25 million fine to settle a three-year U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission probe into how it recognizes revenue.

The North Canton, Ohio-based company also said the U.S. Department of Justice has decided not to bring criminal charges related to the transactions and accounting issues involved in the SEC probe. Diebold has said it learned in the fourth quarter of 2007 that prosecutors were looking into the matter.

Diebold said that under its agreement in principle with SEC staff, the company will neither admit nor deny civil securities fraud charges, and said the agreement remains subject to final approval by the commission. It said it recorded a $25 million charge for the settlement in the first quarter of 2009.

The company in 2006 admitted to having made a "material overstatement of revenue and a material understatement of deferred revenue balances" for the prior year.

In March 2006, Diebold said it would reduce fourth-quarter 2005 revenue by $7 million and net income by $4.2 million to defer some election systems revenue into future periods. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; editing by Gunna Dickson)