Greece to seek damages from Siemens over bribes
Greece will seek damages from German industrial conglomerate Siemens over past bribery scandals, senior government officials said on Monday.
January 25, 2011 / 09:19 IST
Greece will seek damages from German industrial conglomerate Siemens over past bribery scandals, senior government officials said on Monday.
The cash-strapped government is under strong pressure to punish those who have benefited from the country's widespread corruption over the past decades, as voters hard pressed by austerity measures demand retribution.Allegations that Greek politicians and political parties received money during successive administrations to grant Siemens lucrative contracts have dominated local media for years."Greece will seek compensation for the damage it has suffered from the corrupt practices that have been used by your company in the past," Investment Minister Harris Pamboukis said in a letter to the head of Siemens' Greek subsidiary."The Greek Republic owes it to its people to reveal the truth," he said.Siemens ended one of the biggest corporate corruption probes in history when it agreed in 2008 to pay about 1 billion euros in fines and penalties after investigations by US and German authorities into bribes it paid to win contracts.Greek prosecutors are investigating alleged bribes on contracts between the Greek unit of Siemens and then state-controlled telecoms group OTE during 1997-2002.A parliamentary committee is looking into this and into another scandal related to security systems for the 2004 Olympic Games.Lawmakers from the committee are expected to publish reports later on Monday and say which former Greek ministers they want to probe further in another investigative committee.One former Greek socialist minister told the committee last year he had accepted money from Siemens while in office in the late 1990s. He was arrested and charged with moneylaundering.Three Siemens Hellas officials have been charged in the scandal but slipped the Greek authorities' grasp -- former chairman Volker Jung, former CEO Michalis Christoforakos and Christos Karavellas, a financial manager. They have denied wrongdoing. Siemens Hellas could not immediately be reached for comment but has said in the past it was fully cooperating with Greek authorities. Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
