Three Detained Over Daimler Bribery Case

April 6, 2011
Daimler is accused of bribing Croatian officials during sale of fire-fighting vehicles.

Croatian police on April 5 detained three people suspected of being involved into the alleged bribery of local officials by the German car maker Daimler, the interior ministry said.

The three are suspected of abuse of power and money laundering which illegally earned them 921,320 euros ($1.3 million).

According to local media reports, in 2003 the then government struck a deal with Daimler to buy 210 fire-fighting vehicles worth some 800 million kunas (110 million euros). Media said that the car maker gave Croatian officials some 4.7 million euros in bribes to ensure the deal.

Daimler has admitted making hundreds of improper payments worth tens of millions of dollars to foreign government officials in at least 22 countries, including Croatia, between 1998 and 2008.

Two of the men arrested owned a local car parts firm which received 250,000 euros from an unnamed German-based company in an apparent loan that was never repaid, the interior ministry statement said. The third man allegedly received 1.6 million euros on his US-based firm account for consultant services that were never provided, it said.

The fictitious services were presented as being given to a German-based company for moves to be made to reach a deal with the Croatian government to buy 210 fire-fighting vehicles in 2003, the statement said.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2011

Popular Sponsored Recommendations

Empowering the Modern Workforce: The Power of Connected Worker Technologies

March 1, 2024
Explore real-world strategies to boost worker safety, collaboration, training, and productivity in manufacturing. Emphasizing Industry 4.0, we'll discuss digitalization and automation...

3 Best Practices to Create a Product-Centric Competitive Advantage with PRO.FILE PLM

Jan. 25, 2024
Gain insight on best practices and strategies you need to accelerate engineering change management and reduce time to market. Register now for your opportunity to accelerate your...

Transformative Capabilities for XaaS Models in Manufacturing

Feb. 14, 2024
The manufacturing sector is undergoing a pivotal shift toward "servitization," or enhancing product offerings with services and embracing a subscription model. This transition...

Shifting Your Business from Products to Service-Based Business Models: Generating Predictable Revenues

Oct. 27, 2023
Executive summary on a recent IndustryWeek-hosted webinar sponsored by SAP

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of IndustryWeek, create an account today!