Appellate level prosecutor recommends indictment against former Siemens Hellas chief; another 2 German executives on bribery charges

An appellate level prosecutor in Athens has recommended an indictment against former Siemens Hellas CEO Michalis Christoforatos on charges of bribery related to a massive contract for the ill-fated C4I system. The latter was scheduled to be installed and activated during the 2004 Olympics Games, but never came on line.

The prosecutor has initially recommended against indicting Christoforatos on charges of fraud and bribery, maintaining at the time that the ex-Siemens Hellas executive didn't bribe top state officials but instead funneled millions of euros from the parent company's (Siemens AG) "black  books" in the form of "grants".

Nevertheless, a subsequent directive by a council of appeals justices for further judicial investigation overturned the initial recommendation.

As such, the relevant prosecutor, Stelios Kostarellos, now cites indications that Christoforatos and two former executives of the parent company in Germany, Reinhard Siekaczek and Michael Kutschenreuter, engaged in bribery.

A Munich court in 2008 convicted Siekaczek of corruption and sentenced him to two year's probation and a fine of 108,000 euros. Kutschenreuter, the one-time top financial officer of Siemens' telecoms unit, was convicted in 2010 by a court in Munich and  placed on probation for two years. He was also fined 160,000 euros.

Christoforatos, who also holds German citizenship, fled Greece for Germany and has so far successfully blocked his extradition.

The allegations probed by Greek prosecutors are that the trio actively bribed unknown Greek state officials involved in the order and delivery of the C4I system between 2003 and 2009.

The prosecutor recommended the indictment of 18 people in the case, with the final decision for a trial to be taken by the council of appellate justices.