Bahrain's Alba gets $ 447 mln compensations from US's Alcoa

A Bahraini aluminum manufacturing company announced here on Tuesday that it reached a settlement in its racketeering and fraud suit against its US counterpart in a United States District Court. In a press conference, Mahmood Al-Kooheji, chairman of Aluminum Bahrain (Alba), said that today's settlement, which has a total value to Alba of USD 447 million, to be paid by Alcoa Inc. (Alcoa), will be realized in a combination of USD 85 million in cash and a long-term alumina sales agreement for five years. Al-Kooheji pointed out that Alba's civil suit against Alcoa, Alcoa World Alumina, LLC, and other individuals, was the first case that was brought by a foreign business in a US court to recover losses resulting from alleged corrupt activity by corporations and individuals in the United States and elsewhere. He said the complaint alleges that the defendants made unlawful payments to officials in Bahrain, adding that at the request of the US Department of Justice; the case was stayed for nearly four years to allow an investigation under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act to proceed. "The new leadership of Alcoa is to be commended for this fair and transparent settlement, which marks a turning point for Alba in its legal efforts to recover losses suffered over a long period of time," Al-Kooheji said. "while we turn the page in our relationship with Alcoa, our shareholders, employees, and the people of Bahrain should know that we will continue to manage Alba's business with transparency and integrity," he added. Alba is considered as one of the largest industrial companies in the Middle East and the fourth largest aluminum smelter in the world. The company's shares are also listed on the Bahrain Bourse and the London Stock Exchange.