French manufacturer Alstom was sentenced along with other companies and officials to a collective fine of nearly 45 million euros by a Brazilian court. The decision, which can be appealed, also bans the convicted officials from working in the public sector and the companies involved from contracting public contracts in Brazil for five years.
On January 12, 2007, workers were carrying out excavation work for the Pinheiros metro station, in the west of the Brazilian economic capital, when a large sinkhole opened up. Pedestrians and vehicles were swept away in a pile of earth, asphalt and concrete.