Alcoa Inc. was accused of using a middleman to bribe officials at Bahrain’s state-owned aluminum producer to reap more than $400 million in illegal profit, according to new claims filed in a racketeering lawsuit.
Alcoa, the largest U.S. aluminum producer, made tens of millions of dollars in illegal payments through an intermediary to an official at Aluminium Bahrain BSC, known as Alba, and the government of Bahrain, according to court papers filed yesterday in federal court in Pittsburgh. The company also paid more than $5 million in bribes to former Alba Chief Executive Officer Bruce Hall, according to the filing.
Alba sued Alcoa in February 2008 claiming the New York- based company caused it to pay inflated prices for alumina, the principal raw material in aluminum. The case was closed after the U.S. Justice Department said it was investigating whether Alcoa made corrupt payments in Bahrain. It was reopened in November after a judge ruled that Alba could file an amended complaint and a statement laying out its racketeering case.
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