Siemens to bankroll anti-corruption drive by world bodies

Jul 2, 2009, 21:04 GMT

Munich - Making up for its past misdeeds, Siemens is to help pay for anti-corruption campaigns by the United Nations and other bodies, the German electronics group said Thursday in Munich.

The company will provide up to 5 million euros (7 million dollars) annually for 15 years to help prevent corruption.

Siemens, which has admitted that for years its executives bribed their way to contracts for telephone exchanges and other multi- million-dollar projects, said the undertaking was made to the World Bank in Washington.

Under a settlement with the World Bank to mark a clean start, the German company also agreed to be excluded from tendering for all World Bank-funded projects from the start of this year until the end of 2010.

Peter Solmssen, a Siemens executive, said the accord was a fresh reminder of the failures of Siemens management in the past. A repentant Siemens has admitted corruptly spending 1.3 billion euros before it mended its ways.

In the past, Siemens' sales for World Bank-financed projects have averaged 100 million euros annually. The company makes everything from power turbines to tramcars.

This settlement provides significant consequences for past wrongdoing by Siemens,' said Leonard McCarthy, a vice president at the World Bank. He said the company's penalty also help 'hold more corrupt firms and individuals accountable' for corruption.

In Munich, sources said the opt-out would not necessarily reduce Siemens sales radically, as the group could still sell equipment to projects as a subcontractor. It could also supply equipment to projects paid for by other international development banks, the sources said.