Swiss indict banker in alleged Alston bribery case

GENEVA

Swiss prosecutors said Thursday they have indicted a Zurich banker suspected of helping French engineering company Alstom SA make payments to win international contracts.

Swiss banker Oskar Holenweger was charged with offenses relating to money laundering and fraud following a seven-year investigation, said Lienhard Ochsner of the Federal Prosecutors Office in Bern.

Holenweger is suspected of having received about 1 million Swiss francs ($900,000) in exchange for arranging bribe payments from Alstom to business partners, according to the indictment.

Alstom's British subsidiary has been investigated for related allegations of corruption, bribery and money laundering. Two of its executives in Britain were released without charge in March.

A related French inquiry was opened in 2007, based on information from Swiss authorities.

According to Swiss court documents released two years ago, the Alstom investigation centered on allegations that the company funneled bribes worth 70 million francs ($65 million) a year through its Swiss subsidiary, hiding the payments as "consultancy fees." The company denies the claim.

Alstom is a French heavy engineering giant based near Paris that makes electric generating power plants as well as railway rolling stock, including France's famed TGV high speed trains. It was saved from bankruptcy in 2004 when French President Nicolas Sarkozy -- then the finance minister -- organized a state bailout.

A date for Holenweger's trial has yet to be set.