Alstom SA, French power and transportation company, to pay $772M in foreign bribery case

A French power and transportation company has agreed to pay $772 million in penalties to resolve allegations that it bribed government officials in multiple foreign countries.

Justice Department officials on Monday announced that Alstom SA would plead guilty to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Prosecutors say the company and several subsidiaries falsified books and paid tens of millions of dollars in bribes for contracts for power, grid and transportation projects. Authorities say the bribes were paid in countries including Egypt, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.

The guilty plea was being entered Monday in federal court in Connecticut, where a U.S. subsidiary is located.

The Justice Department says five individuals, including four executives of Alstom and its subsidiaries, have already been charged in connection with bribery-related schemes.