Former Siemens executives Ernst Keil-von Jagemann and Wolfgang Rudolph last week admitted to paying e1.3 billion in 75 counts of kickbacks and bribes to Russia and other countries.
Jagemann was given a two-year suspended sentence and a e12,000 fine; Rudolph was given a nine-month suspended sentence and a e20,000 fine to be paid to charity.
In another German court, Johannes Feldmayer (a former Siemens management board member) this week was given a two-year suspended sentence and a fine of e28,000.
He was found guilty of bribing Wilhelm Schelsky (former head of the Association of Independent Employees trade union) with e30 million; Schelsky gets 4.5 years in prison for accepting the bribe. Siemens had attempted to buy the loyalty of the management-friendly AIE/AUB union over the more dominant IG Metall union.
The company has spent e510 million on internal investigations. That adds up to over $2.3 billion spent foolishly.
A union worker gets jailed for accepting money but company executives don't even tho they have thrown away money that what not even theirs???
Does this mean the union guy 'asked' for the dosh in return for a favour and the company exec's didn't have the balls to stand up to him or;
does it mean the the company exec's offered the money - in return for a favour - and the union guy simply accepted a 'gift'.
If the first is true then the jail term is understandable; if the second is true then it would appear, to me, company execs are seen differently when punishment is to be dished out. I would rate the exec's behaviour as being the worst of the two as they held trusted positions with the company who lost all the money?
Basically no penalty has been dished out to the exec's has it?
I think the 'Scales of Justice' need to be recalibrated!
Posted by: R. Paul Waddington | Nov 25, 2008 at 03:26 PM
Wow, i don't know what to say!
Posted by: GordonK | Nov 26, 2008 at 01:55 AM
evidently crime pays in Germany...... pathetic
Posted by: A.I. | Dec 01, 2008 at 05:27 PM