Witness Links Pierer to Illicit Payments

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Spiegel

April 19, 2008
Witness Links Pierer to Illicit Payments

As the scope of the corruption scandal grows at Siemens, there are new accusations that former Chairman Heinrich von Pierer knew more about the bribes the engineering giant was paying than he has so far admitted. A witness says Pierer knew about a $10 millon payment in connection with a government project in Argentina.

Things are going from bad to worse for Pierer. After being dropped as technology advisor by German Chancellor Angela Merkel last weeka few days ago, now more accusations that the former Siemens chairman knew more about the system of bribes at the company have emerged. A top executive at the German engineering giant has linked Pierer to a bribe of $10 million connected to a large government project in Argentina. The senior manager with Siemens Business Services (SBS) has told Munich prosecutors that Pierer brushed aside reservations about the payments expressed by Siemens managers.

The bribe was linked to a $2 billion (€1.2 billion) deal made in 1998 to provide the Argentinean Interior Ministry with electronic identity documents. According to another Siemens manager, the company had already paid bribes to the Interior Ministry under the administration of former Argentinean President Carlos Menem.

After Menem left office in 1999 the government cancelled the contract. According to the SBS manager, a Swiss consultancy firm was then paid $10 million by Siemens to revive the deal. The witness said that he and a colleague had discussed the payment with Pierer in person. They were told they should act like "soldiers of Siemens."


Read more: http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/0,1518,548436,00.html