Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

CRIME

Ex-Siemens director convicted in corruption scandal

In the first trial over the massive Siemens corruption scandal that came to light in November 2006, a Munich district court on Monday handed a former manager a two-year suspended sentence and hefty fines for his part in paying €53 million in bribes to land foreign contracts.

Published: 28 July 2008 11:08 CEST

Ex-Siemens director convicted in corruption scandal

Photo: DPA

The 57-year-old defendant, former telecommunications unit director Reinhard Siekaczek, admitted to developing and administering a slush fund between 2001 and 2004. He was convicted of 49 counts of breach of trust and will pay a fine of €108,000.

“The money is gone,” said head judge Peter Noll in the court decision. “The charges have been completely confirmed,” he said, adding that the money disappeared into an “impervious company network” like a sponge.

Siekaczek’s trial is the first in an investigation that includes some 300 people over kickbacks for foreign contracts that reached into the upper ranks of the company, including the former chairman and former head of the supervisory board.

Siemens, one of Europe’s largest engineering conglomerates, estimates that up to €1.3 billion of the company’s money ended up in slush funds between 2000 and 2006.

dpa/ddp/afp

Two arrested in Bavaria for allegedly spying for Russia

The pair, identified only as Dieter S. and Alexander J., were arrested in the city of Bayreuth in southeastern Germany on Wednesday, federal prosecutors said in a statement.

The main accused, Dieter S., is alleged to have scouted potential targets for attacks, “including facilities of the US armed forces” stationed in Germany.

Police officers also searched both men’s residences and work places on Wednesday.

They are suspected of “having been active for a foreign intelligence service” in what prosecutors described as a “particularly serious case” of espionage.

According to prosecutors, Dieter S. had been exchanging information with a person linked to Russian intelligence services since October 2023, discussing possible sabotage acts.

“The actions were intended, in particular, to undermine the military support provided from Germany to Ukraine against the Russian aggression,” prosecutors said.

The accused allegedly expressed readiness to “commit explosive and arson attacks mainly on military infrastructure and industrial sites in Germany”.

To this end, Dieter S. collected information about potential targets, “including facilities of the US armed forces”.

Fellow accused Alexander J. began assisting him from March 2024 at the latest, they added.

Dieter S. scouted some of the potential targets by taking photos and videos of military transport and equipment. He then allegedly shared the information with his contact person.

Dieter S. also faces a separate charge of belonging to a foreign terrorist organisation, as prosecutors strongly suspect he was a fighter of an armed unit of the so-called “People’s Republic of Donetsk” in eastern Ukraine in 2014-2016.

Germany has been shaken by several cases of alleged spying for Russia since the invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, amid suggestions that officials in Berlin are too sympathetic with Moscow.

A former German intelligence officer is currently on trial in Berlin, accused of handing information to Moscow that showed Germany had access to details of Russian mercenary operations in Ukraine. He denies the charges.

And in November 2022, a German man was handed a suspended sentence for passing information to Russian intelligence services while working as a reserve officer for the German army.

Url copied to clipboard!