A federal judge said Tuesday the Securities and Exchange Commission can serve a summons to four former executives of Siemens AG in Germany by publishing the summons in the International Herald Tribune.

The SEC asked for permission last week for the unique summons after it said it had been unable to serve the men through traditional legal channels. The four men were accused of violating a U.S. anti-bribery law in December for allegedly agreeing to pay more than $100 million in bribes to secure a lucrative government contract...