Corruption: Nigeria scraps deals with Siemens

The Nigerian government has torn up a € 700,000 contract with Siemens for the supply of power-systems equipment because the multinational corporation stands accused of bribing members of the Nigerian government between 2001 and 2004. In October, a Munich court slapped a € 201 million fine on Siemens for international slush-fund operations. As the media report, the offences listed in the Munich verdict include payments totalling € 10 million to four Nigerian ministers, a senator and an official of the Immigration Service. After the verdict, President Umaru Yar’Adua’s government launched its own inquiry into the matter. Until the findings are published, Nigeria will not do business with Siemens, according to Nigeria’s Telecommunications Minister John Odey. The German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung reports a spokesman for the president saying that no one who broke the law in the Siemens affair will escape justice. (ell)