US charges French power co. execs with bribery

The US Justice Department unveiled charges Tuesday against one former and one current executive of French power company Alstom over bribery in a large Indonesia power plant deal. The department charged Frederic Pierucci, currently a vice president at Alstom Power Systems, and David Rothschild, formerly an Alstom regional sales director, with plotting to bribe Indonesian officials to obtain a major contract for the Tarahan power plant in southern Sumatra in 2002-2009. The indictments unsealed Tuesday say the two violated the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in making payoffs on behalf of their company for contracts to supply the Tarahan power company being built by Indonesia's state power company Perusahaan Listrik Negara. The bribes went to high-ranking officials of PLN and to a senior member of parliament, according to the indictments. "The purpose of the conspiracy was to make corrupt payments to a member of parliament in Indonesia, officials at PLN, and others in order to obtain and retain business related to the Tarahan Project," the Justice Department said. Rothschild had already pleaded guilty last November, the department said, but the charges were only unveiled Tuesday. The department did not identify Alstom by name, but its description of the company in the indictment matched Alstom, and Pierucci, 45, is identified on the Alstom website as an employee. In addition, on their LinkedIn pages Pierucci identifies himself as an Alstom executive and Rothschild, 67, identifies himself as a former Alstom official. The US charged them on the basis that they worked in the United States for Alstom's Connecticut-based unit Alstom Power Inc, USA. "Frederic Pierucci and David Rothschild allegedly used outside consultants to bribe foreign officials in Indonesia in exchange for lucrative power contracts," Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman said in a statement. "Stamping out foreign bribery is a Justice Department priority, and we are determined to continue our vigorous enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act." According to Indonesia media reports, last year the head of Alstom's Indonesia unit and a senior legislator were investigated by the country's counter-corruption agency over the alleged Tarahan bribes.