U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose on Tuesday approved the settlement of a shareholder lawsuit filed against Alcoa Inc. in connection with the Aluminum Bahrain BSC bribery scandal.
Aluminum Bahrain, known as Alba, sued Alcoa in 2008 claiming that its affiliates bribed Alba executives and Bahraini officials to cause the company to overpay more than $400 million since 1997.
A group of shareholders sued Alcoa’s board in 2012 for failing to limit the company’s liability after Alba filed its lawsuit.
The company has agreed to make several reforms, including the creation of a chief ethics and compliance officer, and to pay $3.75 million in attorneys’ fees.
The allegations led to investigations by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission. A joint venture controlled by the New York company and Alumina Ltd. of Australia pleaded guilty in January 2014 to a criminal charge of violating the Federal Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 and agreed to pay $384 million in penalties to end the investigations.