Alcoa stung by $384m charge
ALCOA and a joint venture it controls have agreed to pay $384m (£233m) to resolve charges of bribing officials at a Bahraini state-controlled aluminum smelter.
The two deals settle criminal and civil allegations that two of the joint venture’s subsidiaries bribed officials for years so they could supply raw materials to Aluminum Bahrain, or Alba.
Yesterday Alcoa also reported a steep fourth quarter loss as it recorded a $1.72bn impairment charge from two acquisitions made over a decade ago. The firm’s total loss amounted to £2.34bn with revenues falling 5.3 per cent during the period to $5.59bn. Shares in Alcoa fell 1.3 per cent to $10.69.