United States v. Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
United States District Court for the District of Columbia
No. 08-CR-367 (2008)
- Written by Rich Walter, JD
Facts
Along with the United States and other economically developed countries, Germany joined the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Formerly, German corporations such as Siemens Aktiengesellschaft (Siemens) (defendant) were legally allowed to write off bribes to foreign officials as tax-deductible business expenses. This became impossible in 1999, when Germany ratified the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions. Senior Siemens executives immediately adopted policies, standards, and practices designed to comply with the OECD Convention. Siemens executives took additional compliance measures over the next several years. Nevertheless, the executives received continuing reports that Siemens employees were involved in ongoing foreign corrupt practices and that the corporation’s compliance measures were largely ineffective. Despite these reports, Siemens executives did almost nothing to address these failures. German and American authorities launched a joint investigation that led to criminal proceedings against Siemens in both countries.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Tyrrell, J.)
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