16 March 2018
Eberhard Reichert, a 78-year-old German citizen, pleaded guilty on one count of conspiracy in a $100 million bribery scam. The bribery was for a $1 billion contract with the Argentine government to produce national identity cards. Siemens was awarded the contract in 1998.
Reichert worked for Siemens from about 1964 to 2001.He was one of eight Siemens employees indicted on U.S. corruption charges in 2011. Reichert signed off false invoices from a sham consulting company to free up cash for payment of the bribes. He evaded arrest for six years after he was charged in the US. He was arrested in Croatia in September and was extradited to New York. He was released on a $500,000 bond after a hearing before U.S. District Judge in Manhattan, the U.S. Justice Department said.
Andres Truppel, a former chief financial officer of Siemens Argentina, another defendant, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy in September 2015.
Siemens in 2008 agreed to pay $1.3 billion to resolve bribery investigations in the United States and Germany.
