- This week’s settlement with Alstom (OTCPK:ALSMY) over its bribery schemes appears to mean that there's little cause for worry when buying a company with a history of corruption around the world as long as the company’s sins look to be in its past.
- GE will not need to worry about Alstom’s $772M criminal fine when it buys most of the French company next year, according to the U.S. Department of Justice; in fact, as part of guilty plea deal reached with Alstom, prosecutors "insisted” that none of the penalty be passed to back to GE.
- Prosecutors let GE off the hook even though allegations of Alstom’s bribe schemes were known for years, but one goal of DoJ enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act actually is to encourage the sale of companies that have engaged in misconduct.