Hoping to quell recent waves of criticism about its conduct and frequent failure for charging executives in large Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) cases, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) charged individuals in the prominent Siemens case with bribery, the agencies announced Tuesday.

According to the SEC complaint, six former executives of Siemens and two alleged intermediaries have been charged with three counts: conspiracy to violate the FCPA and wire fraud statute, money laundering conspiracy and wire fraud. The men, including former member of the central executive committee of Siemens AG Uriel Sharef, allegedly conspired to pay more than $100 million in bribes to “high-level Argentine officials,” with about $60 million in bribes paid.

“Today's indictment alleges a shocking level of deception and corruption,” Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer told the Washington Post. “Business should be won or lost on the merits of a company's products and services, not the amount of bribes paid to government officials.”