Siemens said on June 10 that it had uncovered a corruption bid by employees in Kuwait and called in German police to deal with the matter.
A spokeswoman for the Munich prosecutor's office, in the south of the country, confirmed it launched an investigation last month after being tipped off by Siemens' anti-corruption division.
"Arrest warrants have been issued and arrests made," the spokeswoman said, adding that several people were being investigated.
A source close to Siemens said three of its employees in Kuwait were involved, adding that they had been fired.
"There wasn't actually any corruption as their attempt was discovered in time," the source said, adding that Siemens might also sue them.
A Siemens spokesman said the affair proved its anti-corruption division was doing it work. "We informed authorities and acted against the employees very quickly," the spokesman said.
No details were provided on the nature of the corruption case, or who the employees might have tried to bribe.
Siemens, whose activities range from nuclear power stations to trains and light bulbs, was tarred by a major corruption case which broke in 2006. A number of its top executives, who allegedly operated a 1.3 billion euro (US $1.8 billion) slush fund to help win international contracts, were charged and or resigned.
Siemens, which employs some 400,000 people worldwide, found out in the wake of an internal investigation that the practice was widespread across its numerous divisions.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2011
