New York: US telecom-equipment maker Lucent Technologies faces bribery allegations in a giant Saudi telecom project, according to a lawsuit filed in a district court in the southern district of New York by Saudi-based Silki-La-Silki National Telecom.

The lawsuit alleges that Lucent won $ 5 billion worth of Saudi contracts in lieu of bribing Saudi telecommunications minister Dr Al-Johani with amounts of $ 15 to $ 21 million from 1995 to early 2003.

The lawsuit also claimed that Al-Johani, who received a successful bone-marrow transplant for Leukaemia at Seattle's prestigious Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre, later arranged for a donation of more than $ 2 million to the cancer centre to express his gratitude, the amount coming from Lucent Technologies.