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Alcatel, the French multinational company, best known for its wireless and Internet equipment, has been linked to bribery charges in Costa Rica, Taiwan and Africa.

If wrongdoing is proved, Alcatel could face the risk of fines from courts and U.S. financial watchdog, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which intervened because Alcatel's American depositary shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

Alcatel allegedly transferred $15 million to a consulting firm between 2000 and 2003 to obtain cellular networks contracts with Costa Rico's national carrier, ICE. Costa Rican prosecutors allege that some of this money was used to pay bribes. Alcatel reportedly paid politicians in Costa Rica 'right and left' while it was negotiating a $149 million cellular phone contract in 2001, and another $109 million fixed telephone line contract in 2002.

The scandal exploded in October 2004 when former Costa Rican power and telecommunications director Jose Antonio Lobo was quoted by the Costa Rican daily La Nacion as saying that he and former Costa Rica president Rodriguez had received a $2.4 million bribe from Alcatel in 2001.

As a result of the corruption scandals Costa Rica's telecoms monopoly ICE has blacklisted Alcatel (NYSE: ALA) and another company Ericsson from future equipment contracts. Ericsson has appealed this decision.

In the Taiwan case executives from Alcatel's Taiwanese subsidiary (along with Siemens AG's) are being probed into whether they bribed officials in $27.4 million worth of railway contracts awarded in 2003, according to an Alcatel filing with the SEC in November (2004). Alcatel's Taiwan Chief Executive Jean-Philippe Benoist was arrested in June as part of the probe.

It is also alleged that Alcatel funnelled EUR10 million of bribes in Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria and Sudan through Swiss company Telliac SA. Paris magistrate Philippe Courroye is investigating two alleged payments made by Alcatel to Swiss financial vehicle Telliac SA as part of a probe into the Swiss company's transfers.