Alcatel-Lucent to Pay $2.5M in Fines to Settle Charges It Bribed Chinese Officials

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Alcatel-Lucent will pay $2.5 million to settle charges that it violated U.S. anti-bribery laws by paying for hundreds of trips taken by Chinese officials to secure millions of dollars in contracts.  The trips were provided between 2000 and 2003 by Murray Hill, N.J.-based Lucent Technologies, prior to its 2006 acquisition by Alcatel SA, the Justice Department said Friday. Lucent footed the bill for approximately 315 trips for Chinese officials, including sightseeing trips to Las Vegas, Disneyland and the Grand Canyon, the department said. The company paid a $1 million fine to the Justice Department and $1.5 million in civil penalties to settle a separate complaint by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Mary Ward, a spokeswoman for Alcatel-Lucent, said the company "cooperated fully" with the investigation and is "glad to get this matter behind us." The recipients were officials with Chinese state-owned telecommunications companies considered important to securing new business, the department's letter said. The Justice Department agreed to forego criminal prosecution of Lucent as part of the settlement. The company promised to institute a corporate anti-corruption policy and put in place better internal controls to detect violations of anti-bribery laws.