Saudi co files bribery case against Lucent

US telecom-equipment maker Lucent Technologies faces bribery allegations in a giant Saudi telecom project, according to a lawsuit filed in a district court in the southern district of New York by Saudi-based Silki-La-Silki National Telecom.

The lawsuit alleges that Lucent won $5 billion worth of Saudi contracts in lieu of bribing Saudi telecommunications minister Dr.Al-Johani with amounts of $15 to $21 million from 1995 to early 2003.

The lawsuit also claimed that Al-Johani, who received a successful bone-marrow transplant for leukaemia at Seattle's prestigious Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre, later arranged for a donation of more than $2 million to the cancer centre to express his gratitude, the amount coming from Lucent Technologies.