German ex-Siemens official questioned
A German official who worked for Siemens in Greece was released following questioning yesterday but will not be allowed to leave the country as the investigation into the bribery scandal continues. Volker Jung, a former manager of the communications unit at Siemens in Germany and the ex-head of the supervisory board at Siemens Hellas between 1998 and 2003, appeared before magistrate Nikos Zagorianos yesterday. The 70-year-old was questioned about his role at Siemens Hellas and his connections with Greek politicians and businessman Sokratis Kokkalis. Jung served as a board member at Kokkalis’s Intracom technology firm between 2003 and 2005. He denied having a close personal relationship with Kokkalis and said that the two had met in 2002 as part of a business deal. Sources said that Zagorianos also questioned Jung about his relationship with three Greek politicians. Zagorianos released Jung but on condition that he does not leave Greece and that he presents himself at a police station regularly. Meanwhile, the lawyers representing the family of Christos Karavelas, who was financial manager at Siemens Hellas until 1998, stepped down from the case yesterday after a disagreement about the line of defense. They were replaced by Sakis Kehayioglou, a high-profile attorney who spent time in jail in connection to a trial-fixing ring.
