Siemens ‘paid politicians’
Reinhard Siekaczek, a former executive of Siemens, has told members of a parliamentary committee probing a cash-for-contracts scandal that the German electronics and engineering giant paid kickbacks to political parties in Greece for several years. Speaking yesterday to members of the committee who traveled to Munich to gather testimonies, Siekaczek said he knew that «political payments» were being made, sources told Kathimerini. But the former executive said he did not know which Greek politicians had been the recipients of some 1.3 billion euros. Siekaczek referred the committee members to the former CEO of Siemens Hellas, Michalis Christoforakos. The former executive, who fled to Germany in May last year, is expected to testify before the committee members today. Greek MPs had been due to fly to Munich several months ago but German prosecutors only recently approved the visit.
