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Corruption probe takes in ThyssenKrupp subsidiary

An investigation into corporate corruption allegations in Asia appears to have widened and now includes a subsidiary of German steel concern ThyssenKrupp.

Published: 31 October 2011 09:16 CET

Corruption probe takes in ThyssenKrupp subsidiary

Photo: DPA

The probe by German prosecutors was originally looking into engine-maker Tognum and alleged kickbacks and bribes in connection with a weapons deal.

But it now appears that ThyssenKrupp’s submarine-making subsidiary HDW transferred money to a South Korean businessman who is a focus of the original probe. The company allegedly then received a submarine contract worth €2.5 billion from South Korean authorities, according to a report in weekly news magazine Der Spiegel.

ThyssenKrupp said it was launching an internal review and also working with authorities. Auditors and attorneys will go to South Korea for an on-site investigation in November, the company said.

The investigation into Tognum has raised eyebrows because of the gravity of some of the allegations.

According to a 200-page report, a company board member with responsibility for Asia may have been involved in facilitating millions of euros in kickbacks and bribes in connection with the arms deal.

The report described raucous parties with South Korean defence officials at red-light district nightclubs.

HDW, which has been owned for several years by ThyssenKrupp, operates Germany’s largest shipyard in Kiel. It employs thousands of workers throughout Europe.

DPA/The Local/mdm

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Aide to German far-right MEP arrested on suspicion of spying for China

The man, named only as Jian G., stands accused of sharing information about negotiations at European Parliament with a Chinese intelligence service and of spying on Chinese opposition figures in Germany, federal prosecutors said in a statement.

On the website of the European Parliament, Jian Guo is listed as an accredited assistant to MEP Maximilian Krah, the far-right AfD party’s lead candidate in the forthcoming EU-wide elections.

He is a German national who has reportedly worked as an aide to Krah in Brussels since 2019.

The suspect “is an employee of a Chinese secret service”, prosecutors said.

“In January 2024, the accused repeatedly passed on information about negotiations and decisions in the European Parliament to his intelligence service client.

“He also spied on Chinese opposition members in Germany for the intelligence service.”

The suspect was arrested in the eastern German city of Dresden on Monday and his homes were searched, they added.

The accused lives in both Dresden and Brussels, according to broadcasters ARD, RBB and SWR, who broke the news about the arrest.

The AfD said the allegations were “very disturbing”.

“As we have no further information on the case, we must wait for further investigations by federal prosecutors,” party spokesman Michael Pfalzgraf said in a statement.

The case is likely to fuel concern in the West about aggressive Chinese espionage.

It comes after Germany on Monday arrested three German nationals suspected of spying for China by providing access to secret maritime technology.

READ ALSO: Germany arrests three suspected of spying for China

China’s embassy in Berlin “firmly” rejected the allegations, according to Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua.

According to German media, the two cases are not connected.

In Britain on Monday, two men were charged with handing over “articles, notes, documents or information” to China between 2021 and last year.

Police named the men as Christopher Berry, 32, and Christoper Cash, 29, who previously worked at the UK parliament as a researcher.

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