By Karey Wutkowski and Jim Vicini
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - SIEMENS (SIE.XE)AG
Peter Solmssen, general counsel for the German engineering company, told reporters after a court hearing here that he expects German regulators to announce a separate settlement later on Monday.
That settlement, including a fine of about $569 million, brings Siemens' total settlement bill to $1.6 billion in the U.S. and Germany.
Siemens agreed in 2007 to pay about $287 million to settle a related case with German regulators.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia accepted Siemens' settlements with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which accused the company of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act through a lack of internal financial controls.
The Justice Department said Siemens AG from 2001 through 2007 made about $1.36 billion in improper payments to secure favorable business and contracts.
The department called the case "further reaching in scope and magnitude" than any other foreign corrupt practices case it had ever seen.
As part of the settlement Siemens will still be considered a "responsible contractor" in the United States and will be able to continue bidding for U.S. government contracts.
The company agreed to appoint an independent monitor for up to four years and to cooperate with the U.S. government's continuing investigation into individuals in the case.
Siemens' Solmssen said the ruling marks the end of a chapter in the company's history.
"I don't think anything of this size and scale has been this visible," said Solmssen, who joined the company in October 2007 after being an executive at General Electric Co.
In settling the U.S. portion of the probes, Siemens and its units agreed to pay a $450 million fine to settle criminal charges and pay $350 million in disgorgement of past profits to settle civil charges.
"The court was more than satisfied this was an appropriate way to deal with this case and move it forward," U.S. District Judge Richard Leon said during the hearing.
(Reporting by Karey Wutkowski and James Vicini; Editing by Neil Stempleman and Derek Caney)
