Malaysia’s Axiata Group and Telekom Malaysia have temporarily barred Alcatel-Lucent from participating in vendor bids after a call from Malaysia’s anti-corruption commission.
The ban will last a year and covers tenders, contracts and joint ventures. The suspension from Axiata began February 18 while Telekom Malaysia’s was effective January 5.
Alcatel-Lucent said in a statement that it welcomed the recommendation from the antitrust commission and was committed to regaining customers’ trust.
The suspension comes on the heels of allegations that Alcatel-Lucent subsidiaries had bribed government officials and staff from operators in various countries in order to win or retain lucrative equipment contracts.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice had charged the French company earlier this year for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Alcatel-Lucent had allegedly made improper payments totaling more than $8 million to secure contracts in Malaysia, Taiwan, Costa Rica and Honduras.
Alcatel-Lucent and three of its subsidiaries paid $137 million to settle the charges in the US.