Three executives of the British unit of Alstom, the French transport and power equipment conglomerate, have been questioned

Three executives of the British unit of Alstom, the French transport and power equipment conglomerate, have been questioned on suspicion of bribery, corruption, money laundering and false accounting, British officials said Wednesday.
The Serious Fraud Office, which investigates financial crime, said its inquiry centered on suspected payment of bribes by companies within the Alstom group in Britain.The three men were released after questioning without being charged, Alstom said. A company spokesperson, Stéphane Farhi, told The Associated Press that the men were Stephen Burgin, president of the British unit; Robert Purcell, finance director, and Altan Cledwyn-Davies, legal director.The warrants were executed at the request of the Swiss federal Justice Ministry, Alstom said. The company has been under investigation in Switzerland for several years in a case related to allegations that it offered bribes to gain customers in various locations.“It is suspected that bribes have been paid in order to win contracts overseas, and that this has involved associated money laundering and other offenses,” the fraud office said.

Alstom said it was cooperating with the British authorities.

Jeannette Balmer, a spokeswoman for Swiss federal prosecutors, said the fraud office was undertaking its own investigation in Britain and was also “executing a request from Switzerland for mutual assistance.” She said the Swiss criminal inquiry was continuing but would not comment further.The French authorities opened an inquiry into Alstom in 2007 after a tip from the Swiss. A spokeswoman for the Paris prosecutors’ office said that investigation was open, but declined comment.
Alstom operates in 70 countries. It has annual sales of €18.7 billion, or $25 billion, and employs more than 80,000 people. It supplies rolling stock, transport infrastructure and signaling and maintenance for railroads. The company delivered the first high-speed train, or T.G.V., in France in 1978.
The company is also a leader in producing power plants for electricity production including in the nuclear sector and air quality control systems. Its rivals include General Electric, Siemens and ABB. The main shareholder in Alstom is the French conglomerate Bouygues, which bought a 21 percent stake from the state in 2006 and now owns almost 30 percent of the shares.