German engineering giant, Siemens AG, and three of its subsidiaries pleaded guilty to violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and agreed to pay a record total of $1.6bn to American and European authorities. On the American side, Siemens AG paid $450m to the Justice Department and $350m to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The combined US penalties make this the largest monetary sanction ever imposed in an FCPA case since the act was passed by Congress in 1977. According to the court filings, beginning in the mid-1990s Siemens AG engaged in systematic efforts to falsify its corporate books and records and knowingly failed to implement and circumvent existing internal controls. As a result of this, over a six year period Siemens AG made payments totalling around $1.36bn for various dubious reasons. About $800m of this was to bribe foreign officials.