Deutsche Welle writes reported that German steel casting giant ThyssenKrupp is suspected of a major bribery in Kazakhstan, as well as in Uzbekistan and China.
Prosecutors of Essen, where the company’s head office is located, have initiated an investigation against 14 employees of the group.
The magazine writes that an affiliated company of ThyssenKrupp, GfT Bautechnik, took part in construction of artificial islands in the Caspian Sea and supplied cutoff piling there. The story with bribes in Kazakhstan appeared after an anonymous letter was received by the company’s management.
The internal investigation showed that the affiliated company, without notifying the management of ThyssenKrupp, has illegally transferred around 8 million Euro to the account of the company registered in the US. The purpose and end recipients of the payments are unknown. However, the anonymous source told German newspaper WAZ, so that the money were to “push” the construction process forward.
ThyssenKrupp fired 6 employees, including a top manager of GfT Bautechnik. The fired employees do not admit their fault. According to the attorney of GfT, internal race for power caused the firings.
