At a hearing last week before a federal judge in Argentina, Siemens’ former CFO there said a request by the United States to extradite him on FCPA charges should be denied.
Andres Truppel is one of eight former executives or agents of Germany’s Siemens AG charged with violating the FCPA. None of the defendants are U.S. citizens. They live either in Argentina, Switzerland, or Germany.
This is the first report of an extradition hearing involving any of them.
They allegedly bribed a series of Argentine government officials beginning in 1994 for ten years to win a billion dollar contract to produce national identity cards. After the contract was terminated, they paid bribes to reinstate it. They also paid further bribes to suppress evidence when the termination of the contract was being arbitrated.
The eight were named a year ago in a criminal indictment. Seven were also charged with civil FCPA offenses by the SEC. One has reached a settlement with the SEC.
The criminal case has been on hold pending their extraditions.
Siemens’ settlement in December 2008 with the DOJ and SEC for $800 million is the biggest FCPA enforcement action of all time.
At the hearing in Argentina last week, Truppel argued that his extradition to the United States could subject him to double jeopardy. Government investigators there are examining the same bribery allegations, he said.
The judge hasn’t ruled yet.
A Spanish-language report from Argentina is available here.
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