News that a former Siemens board member has been arrested for taking part in alleged slush fund payments raises the question: Why are the police bothered about it?
Exec takes/gives bribe to get a contract. Shock horror. Not really much of a story really with certain parts of the world regarding a ‘commission’ paid to an ‘agent’ as a normal way of doing business.
Even so it’s always a bit of a surprise to see German execs getting caught. They always seem rather upright and correct.
So the latest scandal to hit Siemens, with a former board member, Thomas Ganswindt, being arrested and held by police in custody in Munich will generate a few tut-tuts.
They follow findings of DRAM price-fixing which saw it’s former chip subsidiary fined heavily in the US, and allegations of improper payments and irregular inducements to former executives of its chip division.
Of course it’s not only Siemens and it’s not only Germany. Vodafone got into a little trouble with alleged financial sweeteners during its takeover of Mannesman, and our own BAe Systems has periodically been revealed to keep slush funds for paying off on defence contracts, and is currently experiencing a little bother in that regard.
In the great scale of things like Tyco's Dennis Kozlowski’s life-sized ice replica of Michelangelo's David with its vodka-pouring penis, it is not a great sin.
The really interesting thing about all this is why the police get involved at all. This sort of thing happens most of the time with the police not taking the slightest interest.
Why, all of a sudden, have the Munich Polizei and Scotland Yard suddenly decided to take an interest in commercial bribery?
Subscribe to this blog's feed