Alstom of France Cooperating in U.S. Bribery Inquiry
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Version 0 of 1. PARIS — Alstom, a French industrial conglomerate, acknowledged on Thursday that it was cooperating with the United States Justice Department. Its stock fell nearly 5 percent in Paris trading after a news report that it was facing a large fine in a bribery investigation. The company disputed the Bloomberg News report’s characterization of the investigation and the contention that a large fine was likely. Discussions with the Justice Department “have not evolved to the point of negotiating a potential resolution of any claims,” the company said in a statement from one of its Washington lawyers. “Any effort to estimate the size of any possible fine is sheer speculation, as would be any comparison with other cases that have recently been resolved.” Discussions continue between the company and the government over a possible fine, according to people close to the investigation, but while the Justice Department is said to believed it has a strong case, a settlement and fine are not imminent. Bloomberg News said the investigation arose from Alstom’s activities in Indonesia. Alstom, which based in Levallois-Perret, near Paris, competes in many of the same markets as Siemens, the German industrial giant. Siemens agreed in 2008 to pay about $1.6 billion to the United States and European authorities to settle charges that it had used corrupt means to win contracts. Siemens paid $450 million to the Justice Department and $350 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission, one of the largest such penalties ever paid by an industrial company in the United States. “Alstom is cooperating closely, actively and in good faith with the D.O.J. investigation,” the statement from a lawyer for the company said. “In the course of our regular consultations, the D.O.J. has not identified any ongoing shortcomings with the scope, level or sincerity of the company’s effort.” Christine Rahard, an Alstom spokeswoman, declined to comment further. |