国际英语新闻：Daimler agrees to pay 185 million dollars to settle bribery charges

WASHINGTON, April 1 (Xinhua) -- German automaker Daimler AG companies agreed to pay 185 million U.S. dollars to settle a long- running civil and criminal probe of global bribery, the U.S. government said Thursday.

Daimler and three of its subsidiaries had resolved charges related to a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) investigation into the company's worldwide sales practices, according to a statement released by the Justice Department after a hearing Thursday at a U.S. District Court in Washington, District of Columbia,.

District Court Judge Richard Leon accepted two guilty pleas by Daimler subsidiaries, as well as deferred prosecution deals with the parent company and another subsidiary.

Daimler, known for its elegant Mercedes-Benz cars, was sued of bribing government officials in Russia, Croatia and other countries.

The statement said that the company's Russian subsidiary DaimlerChrysler Automotive Russia SAO (DCAR), now known as Mercedes-Benz Russia SAO, and its German subsidiary, Export and Trade Finance GmbH (ETF), each pleaded guilty to criminal information charging the companies with one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA and one count of violating those provisions.