BAE Systems pays $450 million to settle bribery scandal charges

The British company had been accused of making payments, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars, to foreign authorities to illegally win defense contracts in countries such as Saudi Arabia and Hungary. The company agreed to pay $400 million in fines and to plead guilty to one count of conspiring to make deceptive statements -- about whether the firm had created an anti-corruption program -- to the U.S. government. The charge was filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

In a statement, Gary G. Grindler, acting U.S. deputy attorney general, said "the alleged illegal conduct undermined U.S. efforts to ensure that corruption has no place in international trade."