PITTSBURGH — The Justice Department says a sales subsidiary of Alcoa Inc. will plead guilty today and pay $223 million in penalties for paying bribes to the Middle Eastern Kingdom of Bahrain through a London-based middleman.
Alcoa released a statement confirming the guilty plea by Alcoa World Alumina LLC.
The subsidiary’s officials will plead guilty today in Pittsburgh to violating the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices. Act. Alcoa says it is not being charged in the case and continues to cooperate with the investigation.
The criminal charges are related to a lawsuit filed by Aluminum Bahrain BSC, also known as Alba. Alba contends Alcoa affiliates controlled by London billionaire businessman Victor Dahdaleh bribed Bahrain officials and Alba executives, resulting in Alba overpaying $420 million for raw materials, including alumina, from 1997 to 2009.
Dahdaleh’s attorneys didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment.