Siemens fined over corruption probe

The German telecommunications giant, Siemens, has been fined 201-million euros for bribing clients to win contracts. The decision by Munich’s district court has been welcomed by the firm’s senior director who described it as the first step towards closing a painful chapter. Responsibility for restoring Siemens reputation now rests with Peter Loescher, who took over as CEO in July. But the German penalty may not be the end of the matter.

It is thought the company could end up paying more than a billion euros in fines with at least six countries investigating claims that Siemens employees used slush funds to corrupt customers. Siemens also agreed to pay 179m euros to German tax authorities, after a failure to declare payments properly.

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