Alstom SA’s share price down, agrees to pay a record settlement of $772 million to resolve criminal charges over bribery scheme

Alstom SA pleaded guilty and agreed to pay a total of $772 million in order to end an investigation carried out by the U.S. Justice Department over a “widespread” bribery scheme to win energy contracts in Indonesia and the Middle East.

The Chief Executive Officer of Alstom, Patrick Kron, said in a statement, cited by Bloomberg: “There were a number of problems in the past and we deeply regret that.”

Prosecutors also said that the company did not begin to give “through cooperation” until after the company executive officers were charged by authorities, three years after the investigation in the U.S. began.

The criminal bribery penalty is considered as the biggest criminal penalty paid to the Justice Department under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. It comes after more than half a decade of investigations into the France-based company from law enforcement in ten countries.

The U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement that the fine is to resolve allegations associated with a “widespread scheme involving tens of millions of dollars” in bribes around the world, including Egypt, the Bahamas, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.

According to the Department of Justice, more than $75 million were paid by the French engineering giant in order to secure $4 billion in projects located around the globe. For more than a decade, from 2000 to 2011, Alstom has been trying to secure projects and win them from state-owned companies. According to the U.S. Justice Department, about $300 million in profit was made due to the scheme.

The assistant attorney general of the criminal division, Leslie R. Caldwell, commented at a news conference, cited by Reuters: “We will not wait for countries to act responsibly.”

Alstom SA lost 0.36% to trade at €26.40 per share as of 8:18 GMT, marking a one-year gain of 2.52%. The company is valued at €8.24 billion. According to the Financial Times, the 16 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Alstom SA have a median target of €31.55, with a high estimate of €35.00 and a low estimate of €25.00. The median estimate represents a 18.41% increase from the last price of €26.65.