German authorities have ordered Siemens to pay fines and taxes of about $538 million (380 million Euros) amid the "black money" scandal.

The company's trouble started in November 2006 as reports began to emerge that Siemens had for years used a network of "black accounts" for bribery around the world. In a raid conducted at Siemens' headquarters, Munich police reportedly uncovered suspicious payments made mostly through Swiss and Austrian accounts. In April, Siemens' then-CEO Klaus Kleinfeld abruptly stepped down from his post at the company as the investigation intensified.

Siemens announced last week that a district court in Munich has imposed a fine of $284.6 million (201 million Euros) on the company, marking the end of an investigation conducted by the Munich office of public prosecution. In addition, Siemens said that it must pay $253.5 million (179 million Euros) to German tax authorities.

But Siemens is by no means out of the woods with the ending of the German investigation. Since evidence of the bribes began to surface in late 2006, federal investigations of the company have been launched in the U.S., Japan, Greece, Switzerland, and Italy, in addition to the company's native Germany.

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