Siemens pleads guilty to bribery-related charges

15.12.2008
German electronics firm Siemens AG and three of its subsidiaries have pleaded guilty to charges related to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), for a range of activity, including attempted bribery of government officials worldwide, according to two U.S. agencies.

Due to the charges resulting from the US$805.5 million bribery scheme, Siemens and the subsidiaries have agree to pay criminal fines totaling $450 million, with the parent company paying $448.5 million, according to the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

At a hearing in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Siemens AG pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal violations of the FCPA's internal controls and books and records provisions. Siemens Argentina pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the books and records provisions of the FCPA. Siemens Bangladesh and Siemens Venezuela each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the antibribery and books and records provisions of the FCPA.

Siemens' bribery effort was "unprecedented in scale and geographic reach," Linda Chatman Thomsen, director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, said in a statement.

Siemens representatives were not immediately available for comment.

Beginning in the mid-1990s, Siemens AG engaged in systematic efforts to falsify its corporate books and records and knowingly failed to implement internal controls, the DOJ and SEC said.