The Wall Street Journal, July 2, 2009, discusses a recent settlement by Siemens with the World Bank, and reviews other settlements, which have been negotiated.
"Though Siemens still faces investigations in several other countries, the World Bank agreement is a major milestone in resolving the bribery scandal. In December, the company agreed to pay $800 million in fines -- the largest penalty ever imposed under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act -- to end litigation claims by the U.S. Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
It has also agreed to pay €596 million, or $839.4 million, to German authorities, including a €201 million fine levied by a Munich court in 2007. Despite the record settlements, Siemens has managed to avoid much larger sanctions by cooperating with various officials. A Justice Department filing in December said the agency would have sought much larger fines had it not been for the "extraordinary steps" taken by Siemens to cooperate with authorities and beef up its compliance procedures."
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