Via the FT's Alphaville...but if you want the full story, you'll have to subscribe.

Also, in case you missed it, as I did, two Siemens managers have admitted to making payments - not bribes, mind you (apparently there is a distinction in the original German).

Horst Vigener and Andreas Kley, the managers in question, have pointed out, in their defense, that German law did not at the time the payments took place, only prohibited the bribing of public officials. The Italian utility, whose executives received their payments, had been thoroughly privatized.

Umm...touche...

Still, the two men have been charged with Breach of Trust, which indicates the misuse of institutional funds, if not personal enrichment and the Siemens trial has followed their web of bribes around the world - from Italy to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Monaco.

For further details on Vigener and Kley and the ongoing consequences for Siemens, check out this article from the IHT.

In semi-related news, senior VP and chief financial officer Eric Yu of former Siemens partner, BenQ has been detained by authorities regarding insider trading allegations. Yu and 13 other BenQ execs are thought to have been involved in the scheme. More on the BenQ angle, here.

--MDT

Labels: Andreas Kley, BenQ, bribery, Horst Vigener, Siemens