Wednesday June 10, 08:25 AM
Former Siemens executive facing arraignment in Greece
ATHENS (AFP) - The former general manager of the Greek branch of Seimens is to be arraigned after his arrest on suspicion of defrauding the Greek state, a justice source said.
Dionysis Dendrinos was arrested as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged illegal payments made by the German engineering conglomerate to secure contracts ahead of the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004.
Dendrinos, who holds a Cypriot passport, was arrested late Tuesday outside his home in the eastern Athens suburb of Pallini.
Siemens (Xetra: 723610 - news) officials are accused of bribing local politicians and senior officials at state telecoms operator OTE (Stuttgart: 903465 - news) to bag a multi-million-euro contract before the Athens Olympic Games.
The scandal has rocked Greece for months, with both the ruling party of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis and the main opposition PASOK socialists accused of taking bribes.
Two other suspects -- former Siemens executive Ilias Georgiou and a former general manager at Greek state telephone operator OTE, George Skarpelis -- have also been arrested.
Two more Siemens suspects -- former director Michalis Christoforakos and financial manager Christos Karavellas -- have fled Greece and are believed to be in Germany.
Judicial authorities have also ordered the arrest of Karavellas' wife and children -- a controversial decision that has been criticised by the family's lawyers as vindictive.
|
|
|
Send Article by Email
Send Article by IM
Blog This with Y! 360
Printable View
