ATHENS, Greece: An Athens prosecutor on Tuesday filed charges of bribery and money laundering in a corruption investigation looking into deals between the Greek state and German industrial giant Siemens AG, a court official said.
The official in the prosecutor’s office said the criminal charges concerned transactions related to security systems for the 2004 Athens Olympics and purchases by Greece’s largest telecom company, OTE, in the late 1990s.
Siemens was involved in both transactions. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak about the case to the media.
The charges have not been brought against any individual. Under Greek law, charges can be filed against “all responsible.” After this, a broader investigation must be launched, and anyone deemed a suspect in it is considered automatically charged.
So far about 100 people, including former executives in Siemens AG’s Greek unit and OTE, have testified to Athens prosecutor Panayiotis Athanassiou during the two-year investigation.
Siemens is being investigated in several countries over allegations of bribery and corruption in its communications group. It has said it is cooperating in all the investigations, and has introduced changes designed to make its corporate structure leaner and more transparent.
Siemens’ own investigation has found evidence of violations across the company and in several countries.
In a summary of a Siemens-commissioned report released April 29, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP said it examined business transactions that took place between 1999 and 2006 and found that “domestic as well as foreign compliance regulations have been violated.”
Norway’s economic crime police on Tuesday ordered a Siemens unit to pay a 2 million kroner (about US$400,000) fine for corruption in defense contracts. It was the second Siemens unit to be fined in Norway. The company is contesting both fines.
Allegations that Greek political parties received payments from Siemens slush funds have dominated the Greek media for weeks. On Tuesday, respected daily Kathimerini claimed company officials earmarked more than €12 million (US$19 million) for Greece’s main political parties between 1998 and 2005.
Both the governing conservatives and the main opposition socialists have denied receiving cash.
Socialist spokesman Giorgos Papaconstantinou on Tuesday called for a special Parliamentary investigation, and accused the government of trying to cover up a scandal.
Last week, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis said his party would back a parliamentary investigation once the judicial probe is concluded.
Published: July 1, 2008 by the International Herald Tribune
