German Prosecutors Probe Whether Siemens Paid Iraq Bribes
15:09 EST Wednesday, January 03, 2007
BERLIN (AP)--German prosecutors said Wednesday they are investigating whether the technology and engineering conglomerate Siemens AG (SI) paid bribes to win contracts in Iraq while the country was ruled by Saddam Hussein.
Wolfgang Traeg, a spokesman for prosecutors in Nuremberg, said the investigation followed a 2005 United Nations report that named 63 German companies said to have paid bribes to Saddam's Iraq.
Confirming a report that first appeared in the Financial Times newspaper, Traeg said the probe was focused on Siemens' medical and power supply sections but had not identified any individual suspects.
Siemens spokesman Constantin Birnstiel said the company had already investigated the information in the U.N. report. "Our lawyers came to the conclusion that there was no criminal offense," Birnstiel said.
The company cooperated with the U.N. in the matter and had also let prosecutors know it was ready to cooperate with them, he said.
The news follows that of other corruption probes focusing on the Munich- headquartered company. Six current or former employees were detained after Munich prosecutors ordered raids on company offices across Germany in November. They were later released, but the investigation continues.
Investigators accuse the six of committing breach of trust against the company, in cases stretching back to 2002, by setting up secret funds outside Germany. Siemens says it has identified suspicious payments involving about US$ 550 million.
Chief Executive Klaus Kleinfeld has hired an outside anti-corruption expert and a law firm to revise the company's anti-corruption safeguards.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-03-07 1508ET
Copyright (c) 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
AI
