1. SEC Charges Seven Former Siemens Executives with Bribing Leaders in Argentina; Release No. 2011-263; December 13, 2011
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SEC Charges Seven Former Siemens Executives with
Bribing Leaders in Argentina
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2011-263
Washington, D.C., Dec. 13, 2011 — The Securities and Exchange
Commission today charged seven former Siemens executives with violating
the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for their involvement in the
company's decade-long bribery scheme to retain a $1 billion government
contract to produce national identity cards for Argentine citizens.
Additional Materials
Litigation Release No. 22190
SEC Complaint
Spotlight on FCPA Cases
Siemens was previously charged with FCPA violations and paid $1.6 billion
to resolve the charges with the SEC, U.S. Department of Justice, and Office
of the Prosecutor General in Munich.
The SEC alleges that the executives who perpetuated the scheme worked at
Siemens and its regional company Siemens Argentina. One of the
executives had left Siemens and acted as a payment intermediary in the
scheme. Siemens paid more than $100 million in bribes to such high-
ranking officials as two former Argentine presidents and former cabinet
members. The executives falsified documents including invoices and sham
consulting contracts, and participated in meetings in the United States to
negotiate the terms of bribe payments. They used U.S. bank accounts to
pay some of the bribes.
"Business should flow to the company with the best product and the best
price, not the best bribe," said Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC's
Division of Enforcement. "Corruption erodes public trust and the
transparency of our commercial markets, and undermines corporate
governance."
In a parallel criminal action, the Department of Justice announced charges
against former executives and agents of Siemens. They are charged with
conspiracy to violate the FCPA and the wire fraud statute, money
laundering conspiracy and wire fraud.
According to the SEC's complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan,
the scheme lasted from approximately 1996 to early 2007. Initially, the
bribes were paid to secure a $1 billion contract to produce national identity
cards known as Documentos Nacionales de Identidad (DNI) for every
Argentine citizen. After a change in Argentine political administrations
resulted in the DNI contract being suspended and then canceled, Siemens
paid additional bribes in a failed effort to revive the DNI contract. When the
company later instituted an arbitration proceeding to recover its costs and
expected profits from the canceled contract, Siemens paid additional bribes
to suppress evidence that the contract originally had been obtained through
corruption.
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2011/2011-263.htm[28-12-2011 19:57:01]

2. SEC Charges Seven Former Siemens Executives with Bribing Leaders in Argentina; Release No. 2011-263; December 13, 2011
The former Siemens and Siemens Argentina executives charged by the SEC
each had a role in authorizing, negotiating, facilitating, or concealing bribe
payments in connection with the DNI contract:
Uriel Sharef – A former managing board member at Siemens from
July 2000 to December 2007. He met in the United States with
payment intermediaries and agreed to pay $27 million in bribes to
Argentine officials in connection with the DNI contract.
Ulrich Bock – Former Commercial Head of Major Projects for
Siemens Business Services (SBS) from October 1995 to 2001. As the
officer responsible for the DNI contract, he authorized bribe payments
to Argentine government officials.
Stephan Signer –Replaced Bock as Commercial Head of Major
Projects for SBS and later became Head of Business Operations and
Finance at Siemens IT Solutions and Services. He authorized the
payment of bribes to government officials in Argentina.
Herbert Steffen –CEO of Siemens Argentina from 1983 to 1989 and
again in 1991, and Group President of Siemens Transportation
Systems from 1996 to 2003. Due to his longstanding connections in
Argentina and Latin America, Steffen was recruited by Sharef and met
directly with Argentine officials and offered bribe payments on behalf
of Siemens.
Andres Truppel –CFO of Siemens Argentina from 1996 to 2002. He
regularly communicated with Argentine government officials regarding
illicit bribe payments and participated in U.S.-based meetings where
bribes were negotiated and promised.
Carlos Sergi –A former board member of Siemens Argentina and a
business consultant for Siemens Argentina. His primary role was to
serve as a payment intermediary between Siemens and Argentine
government officials in connection with the DNI contract.
Bernd Regendantz –CFO of SBS from February 2002 to 2004. He
authorized two bribe payments totaling approximately $10 million on
Siemens' behalf.
According to the SEC's complaint, approximately $31.3 million of the $100
million in bribes paid were made after March 12, 2001, when Siemens
became a U.S. issuer subject to U.S. securities laws. As a result of the bribe
payments it made, Siemens received an arbitration award in 2007 against
the government of Argentina of more than $217 million plus interest for the
DNI contract. In August 2009, after settling bribery charges with the U.S.
and Germany, Siemens waived the arbitration award.
The SEC complaint alleges that Bock, Regendantz, Sergi, Sharef, Signer,
Steffen, and Truppel each violated Section 30A of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, and aided and abetted Siemens' violations of Section 30A. The
complaint also alleges that they violated Exchange Act Section 13(b)(5) and
Rule 13b2-1 thereunder by authorizing or directing others to falsify
documents in furtherance of the bribery scheme. Regendantz violated Rule
13b2-2 by signing false internal certifications pursuant to the Sarbanes
Oxley Act (SOX). They each also aided and abetted Siemens' violations of
Exchange Act Sections 13(b)(2)(A) and 13(b)(2)(B) by substantially
assisting in the company's failure to maintain internal controls to detect and
prevent bribery of government officials in Argentina, and by substantially
assisting in the improper recording of the bribe payments in Siemens'
accounting books and records.
Regendantz settled the SEC charges without admitting or denying the
allegations by consenting to the entry of a final judgment that permanently
enjoins him from committing future violations. He paid a €30,000
administrative fine ordered by the Munich prosecutor (equivalent to $40,000
in U.S. dollars).
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2011/2011-263.htm[28-12-2011 19:57:01]

3. SEC Charges Seven Former Siemens Executives with Bribing Leaders in Argentina; Release No. 2011-263; December 13, 2011
The SEC's investigation was conducted by Tracy L. Price, Robert Dodge, and
Denise Hansberry of the Enforcement Division's FCPA Unit that is headed by
Kara Brockmeyer. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S.
Department of Justice's Fraud Section, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the
Southern District of New York, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the
Office of the Prosecutor General in Munich.
# # #
For more information about this enforcement action, contact:
Kara Brockmeyer
Director, SEC Enforcement Division's FCPA Unit
202-551-4767
Tracy L. Price
Assistant Director, SEC Enforcement Division's FCPA Unit
202-551-4490
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2011/2011-263.htm
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