By Brent Kendall and Joel Schectman
WASHINGTON--French engineering giant Alstom SA agreed to pay
$772 million to settle accusations that it paid millions of dollars
in bribes to win energy contracts, prosecutors said on Monday.
That amount represents the largest-ever criminal penalty the
U.S. Department of Justice has gotten from a company on
bribery-related charges. The settlement comes after more than six
years of investigations into Alstom from law enforcement in the
U.S., Switzerland and Indonesia.
The record criminal penalty in part reflects what prosecutors
saw as an initial failure of the company to fully cooperate,
according to people familiar with the matter.
U.S. authorities have ramped up overseas bribery enforcement in
recent years, often investigating foreign companies that have a
subsidiary located within the U.S. The Foreign Corrupt Practices
Act makes it a crime to bribe a government official in exchange for
business.
Access Investor Kit for Alstom SA
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=FR0010220475
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires