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(AMM) Bahrain's Alba accuses Japanese trading house Sojitz of bribery
December 21, 2009 - 19:15 GMT
Location:
NEW YORK
KEYWORDS:
Aluminium Bahrain BSC
,
Sojitz Group
,
aluminum
,
lawsuit
Bahrain's state-owned Aluminium Bahrain BSC (Alba) has accused Japanese trading house Sojitz Group of paying about $15 million in bribes to gain an unfair and anti-competitive advantage in the U.S. aluminum market, according to a civil suit filed in Houston.
"Through a conspiracy involving illegal kickbacks paid by Sojitz to targeted employees and officials of Alba, Sojitz obtained for itself substantial illegitimate discounts on its purchases of Alba aluminum," according to the lawsuit. "Those fraudulently obtained discounts took the form of either purchases made at below-market prices or the receipt of so-called handling fees."
Alba is seeking damages in excess of $31 million, plus punitive damages, interest, capital costs and fees.
The lawsuit alleges that executives of Nissho Iwai Corp., the company that formed Sojitz in 2004, paid the bribes to...
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