From public issue to response, decision and present outcome — kept as separate, dated records. Not a true/false verdict engine.
Issue&Outcome

Home / Issues / Siemens AG's 2008 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act resolution with US and German authorities

Siemens AG's 2008 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act resolution with US and German authorities

Decidedas of 31 Oct 2026United States; GermanySiemens Aktiengesellschaftdraft

Current status

Confirmed fact · as of 15 Dec 2008
In the US criminal matter Siemens AG pleaded GUILTY to the FCPA's books-and-records and internal-controls (accounting) provisions, not to the anti-bribery provision; the SEC's parallel CIVIL complaint did charge anti-bribery violations. The distinction between the criminal accounting plea and the civil bribery charge is preserved.
A U.S. Department of Justice, Siemens AG and Three Subsidiaries Plead Guilty to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Violations and Agree to Pay $450 Million in Combined Criminal Fines (15 Dec 2008) · retrieved 31 Oct 2026 · A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Litigation Release 20829: SEC v. Siemens Aktiengesellschaft (15 Dec 2008) · retrieved 31 Oct 2026
Confirmed fact · as of 15 Dec 2008
The US component (USD 350m SEC disgorgement + USD 450m DOJ fine = about USD 800m) and the German component (EUR 395m in 2008, after EUR 201m in 2007) were separate instruments; the combined global figure was about USD 1.6bn.
A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Litigation Release 20829: SEC v. Siemens Aktiengesellschaft (15 Dec 2008) · retrieved 31 Oct 2026 · A U.S. Department of Justice, Siemens AG and Three Subsidiaries Plead Guilty to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Violations and Agree to Pay $450 Million in Combined Criminal Fines (15 Dec 2008) · retrieved 31 Oct 2026
Last reviewed 31 Oct 2026. An initial allegation is not the final event; this block is always shown.

How it unfolded

Issue raised · 15 Dec 2008
Proposition: US and German authorities alleged that Siemens AG and subsidiaries engaged in a long-running pattern of corrupt payments to foreign officials across numerous countries and failed to maintain accurate books and records and adequate internal accounting controls, in violation of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and German law.
Affected parties: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of the Prosecutor General, Munich
Originating record: A U.S. Department of Justice, Siemens AG and Three Subsidiaries Plead Guilty to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Violations and Agree to Pay $450 Million in Combined Criminal Fines (15 Dec 2008) · retrieved 31 Oct 2026
Response · Siemens Aktiengesellschaft · 15 Dec 2008
Attributed claim · as of 15 Dec 2008
Siemens acknowledged the resolutions, accepted responsibility for past conduct, and pointed to a company-wide compliance overhaul, management changes and an independent monitor. The acknowledgement is recorded in contemporaneous reporting of the settlements. — Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Litigation Release 20829: SEC v. Siemens Aktiengesellschaft (15 Dec 2008) · retrieved 31 Oct 2026
Outcome · U.S. Department of Justice; U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia); Office of the Prosecutor General, Munich · 15 Dec 2008
settlementbinding
Confirmed fact · as of 15 Dec 2008
Recorded precisely by forum. (1) United States, December 2008: Siemens AG settled SEC charges by agreeing to pay USD 350 million in disgorgement, and resolved DOJ charges with a criminal fine of USD 448.5 million (the DOJ criminal fines totalled USD 450 million, including USD 500,000 from each of three subsidiaries), for a US total of about USD 800 million. In the criminal matter Siemens AG pleaded guilty to violating the FCPA's books-and-records and internal-accounting-controls provisions (the accounting provisions), and three subsidiaries (in Argentina, Bangladesh and Venezuela) pleaded guilty to FCPA-related conspiracy charges. The SEC's civil complaint also charged anti-bribery violations. (2) Germany: Siemens paid a fine of EUR 395 million (about USD 569 million) to the Office of the Prosecutor General in Munich in 2008, following an earlier EUR 201 million fine paid to the Munich prosecutor in October 2007. The combined global total was about USD 1.6 billion in fines and disgorgement, a record at the time.
A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Litigation Release 20829: SEC v. Siemens Aktiengesellschaft (15 Dec 2008) · retrieved 31 Oct 2026 · A U.S. Department of Justice, Siemens AG and Three Subsidiaries Plead Guilty to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Violations and Agree to Pay $450 Million in Combined Criminal Fines (15 Dec 2008) · retrieved 31 Oct 2026
Remedy: USD 350 million SEC disgorgement and a USD 448.5 million DOJ criminal fine for Siemens AG (USD 450 million in total DOJ criminal fines including the three subsidiaries) in the US; a EUR 395 million fine to the Munich prosecutor (plus an earlier EUR 201 million in 2007); an independent compliance monitor.
Appeal/review: none — The corporate resolutions were entered by agreement; no appeal. A U.S. Department of Justice, Siemens AG and Three Subsidiaries Plead Guilty to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Violations and Agree to Pay $450 Million in Combined Criminal Fines (15 Dec 2008) · retrieved 31 Oct 2026

Related records

How to read this. Allegation, response and outcome are separate, dated records. "Decided/resolved" appears only where a cited outcome supports it. Materially affected parties can request a correction via Corrections & response.