U.S. and European Governments Settle Bribery Claims with Siemens

Siemens the large European electronic manufacturer will pay the U.S. and German governments fines totaling over $1.4 billion. CNNMoney.com reports on the settlement. The fines are due to an ongoing investigation into the practice of bribing foreign officials to win contracts. As we discussed earlier with the CA Inc story the U.S. has made illegal these practices. Siemens is accused of paying bribes in a variety of countries including Iraq under Saddam. Many of the deals related to large construction projects such as power plants and public transportation systems. Not only did the company pay large fines it also, as the Wall Street Journal reports, spent several hundred million in lawyer fees.