Alstom SA fined record $772 mn hor foreign bribery charges

The French multinational Alstom SA has been fined a record US $772 million by the US over international bribery charges in which the energy and transport giant bribed government officials in Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Taiwan.

The French giant had earlier pleaded guilty to the charges.

Alstom this week secured a multi-billion contract in India to supply 800 railway engines to the Indian Railways.

The company paid secret bribes amounting to at least $75 million in a widespread corruption scheme to government officials in countries around the world, including Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the Bahamas and Taiwan.

The record payment under the federal Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), was ordered by a Connecticut district court judge yesterday after  the company entered into plea negotiations in December 2014.

Alstom through various units including some with a US presence, "paid bribes to government officials and falsified books and records in connection with power, grid and transportation projects for state-owned entities around the world," the justice department said.

The company entered a guilty plea and acknowledged it paid bribes to government officials and falsified books and records in connection with power, grid and transportation projects for state-owned entities around the world.

The plea involved several Alstom entities including Connecticut-based Alstom Power Inc, which admitted it conspired to violate the FCPA's anti-bribery provisions.

Alstom is alleged to have paid over $ 75 million to secure more than $ 4 billion in projects around the world, with a profit to the company of approximately $300 million.

According to authorities, Alstom hired middlemen who posed as consultants to make these payments.

The middlemen were referred as "Mr. Geneva," "Quiet Man" and "Old Friend."

The sentence reflected factors including the breadth of the misconduct, and the company's failure to come clean earlier, according to the justice department.

General Electric Co this month, completed its purchase of Alstom's power and grid businesses for about $10.4 billion.

Four executives from Alstom were also charged by the justice department in connection with the bribery scheme.