PITTSBURGH, June 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. Justice Department Thursday permitted a federal judge to lift an injunction that had stood in the way of a civil lawsuit filed against Alcoa Inc.
The government had initially asked U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose to block access to documents and witnesses involved in Aluminum Bahrain's lawsuit in which it charged that Alcoa used bribes to allow it to overcharge for alumina, a material Aluminum Bahrain uses to produce aluminum, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Thursday.
The Justice Department had requested the injunction, in effect blocking the pre-trial, discovery phase of the lawsuit, so it could examine the evidence for a criminal case it is considering.
In the civil case, Aluminum Bahrain is seeking $1 billion in damages. Alcoa, the company says, took in more than $400 million in illegal profits by overcharging, the newspaper said.
Justice Department deputy chief Adam Safwat of the criminal fraud division said the investigation is continuing, but the department no longer objected to the civil case proceeding.
