German court fines Siemens

Storied engineering firm Siemens must pay a $284 million fine for extensive bribery that some officials in the German company's telecom unit allegedly committed to help them secure contracts and induce favorable relations with other agencies. So says an order from a German court that had been investigating those allegations. However, the matter is far from resolved.

At least one Siemens telecom official is facing a criminal indictment, and charges against other officials still may come. Also, other countries, such as the United States, could still investigate the bribery program and, depending on the outcome, could bar Siemens from doing business in their countries. Siemens is one of the long-standing giants of telecom worldwide, though it always has had difficulty competing in the U.S. market. Needless to say, the bribery charges already have causes a setback for the firm that could continue to worsen.

For more:
- Here's a report [1] in The Wall Street Journal (Sub. req.)
- And EETimes also covers [2] the scandal

Related articles:
- Should Siemens sell out of Nokia Siemens Networks [3]?