Malaysian telecoms operator Axiata says it will bar equipment vendor Alcatel-Lucent from tenders, contracts or joint ventures for one year. The move by the operator follows Alcatel-Lucent’s admission to the US Department of Justice (DoJ) that it made “improper payments” to win contracts with Celcom, a Malaysia mobile operator owned by Axiata, according to Reuters. The suspension will run for 12 months from 18 February 2011.

The bribery charge relates to Celcom’s award to Alcatel-Lucent of a contract in 2009 when the former was owned by fixed operator Telekom Malaysia. Axiata and Telekom Malaysia formed separate subcommittees to investigate the allegations against Alcatel-Lucent in January this year. The investigations by the two operators followed publication by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and DoJ of documents alleging Alcatel-Lucent paid bribes in Malaysia. Late last year the vendor reached a US$137 million settlement with the DoJ in relation to bribes paid to win business in Latin America and Asia prior to 2006. Telekom Malaysia has also said it will suspend Alcatel-Lucent from participating in tenders for one year starting from 5 January 2011.