Siemens Energy settles with US over gas turbine contract dispute

Siemens Energy said it had agreed to pay $104m to settle with U.S. Authorities after using stolen trade secrets five years ago to inflate its bids on contracts.

The proposed settlement between a U.S. Court in Virginia and Siemens Energy revolves around allegations that Siemens Energy used stolen trade secrets to bid for gas turbine equipment, as well as servicing, to Dominion Energy Inc. in 2019.

The court will have to approve the settlement, which is scheduled on Dec. 5.

A case brought by General Electric, a competitor of Siemens Energy, was settled in 2021 between the two companies.

Siemens Energy said on Tuesday that the settlement reached with the U.S. Department of Justice will resolve the case. The company reiterated that it discovered the misconduct by 2020 and had "voluntarily reported the event to the customer", as well as rivals General Electric, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

Siemens Energy's third quarter fiscal report, published in August, cited negative surprises related to an old project in its gas services division. (Reporting and editing by Barbara Lewis; Christoph Steitz)

(source: Reuters)