Daimler is willing to cooperate with Greek authorities investigating allegations that bribes were paid by individuals working at its Greek dealerships in connection with contracts for military vehicles.
“We will cooperate fully with the authorities,” a Daimler representative has stated, adding that the company has not yet been contacted by Greek officials.
Officials launched criminal proceedings on April 27 against seven people, including the head of Daimler dealerships in Greece, in connection with bribery and money-laundering allegations.
A Greek judiciary source meanwhile told AFP the case is “still at the investigation stage”.
Daimler, on the other hand, said it had only become aware of the charges against the seven when the case was reported by the media.
The same representative for the company stressed that “in the present state of our knowledge”, the case “does not implicate Daimler, but individuals”.
Greek prosecutors allege that bribes were paid in connection with contracts for vehicles for the Greek military, worth around $110m in total, in the early 2000s.
Reports suggest that the alleged bribes total $2.25m, and that while four of the suspects were Greek, three worked for Daimler in Germany. It is not clear if the trio were still employed by the company.
In 2010, Daimler paid $185m to settle a corruption case with US justice authorities. The charges involved the payment of alleged bribes in 22 countries.
