Alcatel-Lucent France, S.A., which was known before the 2006 Merger as "Alcatel CIT, S.A." (hereinafter "Alcatel CIT"), was headquartered in Vélizy, France, just outside Paris. Alcatel CIT was a wholly owned subsidiary of Alcatel, and was incorporated in France. Accordingly, Alcatel CIT was a "person other than an issuer or a domestic concern" within the meaning of the FCPA. Alcatel-Lucent Trade International, A.G., which was known before the 2006 Merger as "Alcatel Standard, A.G." (hereinafter "Alcatel Standard"), was headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. Alcatel Standard was a wholly owned subsidiary of Alcatel, and was incorporated in Switzerland. Accordingly, Alcatel Standard was a "person other than an issuer or a domestic concern" within the meaning of the FCPA. Alcatel Centroamerica, S.A., which was known before the 2006 Merger as "Alcatel de Costa Rica, S.A." (hereinafter "ACR"), was formed under the laws of Costa Rica and was headquartered in San Jose, Costa Rica. ACR was a wholly owned subsidiary of Alcatel. Accordingly, ACR was a "person other than an issuer or a domestic concern" within the meaning of the FCPA.
Alcatel itself did not conduct actual business with any customer. Starting in the 1990s, Alcatel utilized a consistent strategy to obtain contracts in many parts of the world, under which Alcatel typically used a subsidiary in the country to obtain contracts. Alcatel’s subsidiaries used consultants who performed little or no legitimate work to funnel more than $9 million in bribes to government officials in order to obtain or retain lucrative telecommunications contracts in Costa Rica, Honduras, Malaysia, and Taiwan.
On December 27, 2010, the DOJ filed a single count Information against the three companies alleging conspiracy to violate the Books & Records and Internal Controls provisions of the FCPA. At the same time, the three companies each entered into plea agreements with the DOJ. The agreements stipulated that each company would be sentenced to 1 year of probation, each would pay a fine of $500,000 plus a special assessment of $400, and implement enhanced compliance controls.
