Alcoa Sued for $1 Billion, Bribery in Bahrain Claimed

Alcoa Inc., the world's third-biggest aluminum producer, was sued by a government-controlled Bahraini metals company for at least $1 billion in damages based on claims of fraud and bribery of officials overseas.

Aluminium Bahrain BSC, or Alba, sued Alcoa in federal court in Pittsburgh yesterday, claiming it was overcharged for 15 years for alumina, an ingredient used to make aluminum. Alba, the tenth-largest aluminum producer, claims Alcoa bribed unidentified Bahraini government and company officials to get business. Alcoa is the world's largest producer of alumina.