Siemens bribery investigation ends with a fine
The investigation into bribery allegations at Siemens AG ends with a fine and a charge for illegal profits. The company is paying the equivalent of $284 million in a case that prosecutors have referred to as Europe’s largest bribery investigation ever.
This part of the investigation is related to the company’s telecommunications-equipment unit. A former manager in this unit, Reinhard Siekaczek was indicted last week in connection with the bribery investigation, and has been accused of embezzling €24 million.
Siemens was fined earlier this year by a German court for bribery in the company’s power-generation unit in Italy. The company has also agreed to pay German authorities for unpaid taxes related to suspicious transactions.
This all began with an internal investigation that Siemens voluntarily began, which has now identified €1.6 billion in suspicious payments.
Authorities are still investigating other allegations against Siemens.
