Zero tolerance on Siemens
Greek officials have pledged zero tolerance over the scandal involving the bribes of German technology giant Siemens to Greek political parties and politicians. The cash value is simple: The management of the electronics company should reveal the entire truth about who was bribed by German officials until 2005, as well as when and how. Or it will have to be left out from all future competitions for state contracts. A government decision should be enough to make sure that Siemens complies. In fact a ban from state contracts would send a strong signal to anyone who is after state contracts via dubious means. Should Siemens be able to prove that it has terminated such dodgy business practices, it will have taken a major step toward safeguarding its business interests and the tenders in this country that are currently in question. Should it not do so, the Greek state will do what it has to do – by imposing penalties similar to those that have been enforced on Siemens by governments in other countries.
