Monday December 15, 05:46 PM
Siemens to pay 395-mln-euro German settlement: prosecutors
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BERLIN (AFP) - German industrial giant Siemens (Xetra: 723610 - news) will pay 395 million euros (540 million dollars) to settle a corruption case in Germany, prosecutors said Monday, after a US court settlement that will see the group pay 800 million dollars.
Prosecutors in the southern city of Munich said the accord had been reached with Siemens to stop the case from going to trial.
The company had already been fined 201 million euros in Germany last year over allegations it had operated an elaborate system of bribe-paying and kickbacks to secure foreign contracts.
Under a US court settlement Monday, Siemens agreed to pay 800 million dollars to stop its prosecution on a separate corruption case.
The group will pay a 450-million-dollar fine and agreed to a 350-million-dollar settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, according to court documents.
The 161-year-old conglomerate whose activities range from nuclear power stations to trains and light bulbs, and employs some 400,000 people worldwide, has acknowledged that up to 1.3 billion euros may have been used illegally to win foreign contracts.
Siemens found the practice was widespread across its numerous divisions.
The German group recently took provisions of one billion euros against potential fines in both Germany and the United States.
Since the scandal erupted in 2007, Siemens has turned against its former management, in particular prominent former chief Heinrich von Pierer, who ran the company from 1992 to 2005 and then headed its supervisory board for two years.
The company has already decided to claim compensation from former executives, who allegedly looked the other way as the company paid bribes to obtain foreign contracts.
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