Prosecutors probe Alstom for contract corruption

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2008

PARIS (AFP) — French prosecutors suspect engineering giant Alstom, builder of power stations and high-speed trains, of bribing foreign officials to win contracts, a judicial source said Tuesday.

Prosecutors started an investigation on November 7 into suspected "corruption of foreign public agents" and "abusive use of assets," the source said.

The source spoke after The Wall Street Journal newspaper reported evidence that the company had "paid hundreds of million dollars in bribes to win contracts in Asia and South America between 1995 and 2003."

Alsom told the paper its offices had been searched by French authorities but that no charges had been laid.

The company told AFP on Tuesday that the newspaper report was based on "hypotheses and speculation"...