Civil Suit Against Alcoa to Standby As Criminal Investigation Commences

A civil suit against aluminum giant Alcoa Inc. has been halted to allow for a criminal investigation into allegations that the company bribed officials in Bahrain. On Thursday, US District Judge Donetta Ambrose granted a Justice Department request to stop a civil suit brought by rival Alba against Alcoa for reportedly bribing foreign officials via shell companies in Asia and Europe.^[1]

Alba, more formally known as Aluminum Bahrain BSC, is seeking over $1 billion in damages from Alcoa as part of a civil suit filed in Pittsburg last month. Both companies agreed to put their suit on hold while Justice officials conduct a criminal investigation into the allegations of bribery and fraud. Alcoa has agreed to cooperate completely with federal investigators, noting that their own internal review indicated no wrongdoing.^[2]

The civil suit alleges that Alcoa and its affiliates violated numerous laws, including US federal mail and wire fraud statutes, as well as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Alcoa is the world’s third-largest aluminum producer, with a reported 2007 revenue of $30.75 billion.^[3]
Further information on Federal Crimes can be found here, with discussions of relevant cases on the Federal Crimes Blogs, found here. Discussions of federal criminal law within the international arena can be found on the Transnational Crimes and Transnational Crimes Blogs sites.

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[1] Associated Press, Judge OKs Halt to Alcoa Bribery Lawsuit, March 28, 2008 (available at www.ap.com).

[2] Id.

[3] Id.