German engineering giant Siemens declined comment on a report Saturday that it would accept an 800-million-dollar penalty from US authorities in connection with a corruption scandal, according to dpa. The daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung quoted an unnamed board member as saying the company would approve the payment when the corporate supervisory board meets on Monday in Munich. A Siemens spokesman confirmed only that investigations by US authorities were near completion. The company is alleged to have bribed officials to the tune of 1.3 billion euros (1.7 billion dollars) between between 2000 and 2006 in order to win contracts abroad. It has been under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as well as the Department of Justice because it is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. US court documents quoted by the German newspaper showed Siemens would pay 800 million dollars to the SEC and the Justice Department, less than originally anticipated. In November, Siemens said it had set aside 1 billion euros for legal settlements related to what has become the biggest bribery scandal in German corporate history. The company, whose product range covers the engineering and electronics sector, is also under investigation by German prosecutors.
