JEDDAH: Saudi Aramco has said that a former employee accused of being involved in a bribery case with Tyco was sacked in 2009. Although he was not in a high position in the company, Aramco has launched a second investigation.

It said the American company’s confirmation of the sacked employee’s identity will not influence Aramco’s commitment to continue the investigation to uncover any other employees or bodies from outside the company implicated in the bribery case.

Aramco said the sacked employee was a technical specialist — not an “official”, as mentioned in Tyco’s documents. He did not occupy any administrative position. It said the US Department of Justice’s investigation and subsequent settlement with Tyco involved state-owned companies, and in some cases government officials in at least 18 countries.

The department’s investigation determined that, among others, Tyco Valves & Controls Middle East, Inc. paid bribes to employees of four different state-owned companies located in three Gulf countries between 2003 and 2006.

The total amount of bribes paid to the employees was reported by the Department of Justice to total $ 488,479 (less than SR 2 million). The $ 26 million fine assessed against Tyco was a penalty for the global pattern of corruption in which it was engaged for over 10 years, and $ 2.1 million of the total fine related to Tyco’s crimes in the Arabian Gulf.