Recently the telecommunication giant Alcatel-Lucent reached mediation agreements with the US Department of Justice and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and agreed to pay a total of US$2.5 million in fines to resolve its bribery allegations.

According to the official website of the US Department of Justice, from 2000 to 2003 – before Lucent was acquired by Alcatel – the company allegedly paid for the trips of some Chinese officials to the US for sightseeing and other leisure activities in order to get the telecommunication equipment purchase contracts worth millions of US dollars.

Accordingly, Alcatel-Lucent will pay a US$1 million fine and another US$1.5 fine to the US Department of Justice and SEC respectively. Meanwhile the US Department of Justice will not prosecute the company. The company's spokeswoman Mary Ward said that mediation agreements were satisfactory.

For more details, please read the full story in Chinese. (http://www.china-cbn.com/s/n/000004/20071225/000000085755.shtml)

(China.org.cn December 25)