The publication reported that Germany’s Darmstadt regional court convicted Andreas Kley, former finance chief at Siemens’ power generation unit, of bribing Enel managers and Horst Vigener, a former employee and consultant, of abetting bribery.
The Associated Press revealed that both former employees admitted paying E6 million ($7.9 million) to two Enel officials between 1999 and 2002, to guarantee that Siemens received a number of contracts to make gas turbines.
It reported that the two former employees were quick to deny Siemens’ involvement in the scheme, and that they instead claimed that Enel had approached them asking for money to secure the contracts.
Both perpetrators have been given suspended sentences, but, according to The Associated Press, Siemens, which was not itself implicated in the trial, has been ordered to return E38 million worth of profits that it made from the deals with Enel.
Siemens has said that it will appeal the court’s decision. The Associated Press cited a company statement as saying: The company maintains that the courts order to forfeit the profits from two orders placed by Enel with Siemens Power Generation Group for the supply of power plant equipment in 2000 and 2001 is illegal.
Siemens is currently embroiled in a number of ongoing investigations regarding internal corruption, particularly within its telecommunications unit.
