Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) charged the UK president of French engineering company Alstom with offences of corruption and conspiracy to corrupt in connection with some train contracts with the Budapest Metro.

The alleged offences by Terence Stuart Watson, who is also the managing director of Alstom Transport UK & Ireland, relate to the supply of trains to the Budapest Metro between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2008, the SFO said on Tuesday.

Alstom did not immediately respond to an email seeking comments and was not reachable via phone. Reuters could not immediately contact Watson or his lawyers for comments.

Alstom, a manufacturer in the rail, power and electricity transmission sectors, has been at the centre of a seven-year-long global investigation for alleged corruption.

UK's fraud prosecutor has in the past brought charges of corruption against two UK-based Alstom units. It first charged Alstom Network UK in July 2014.

Watson is to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on April 5.-Reuters