A spokesman for German chemicals giant BASF has confirmed some employees and external firms are being investigated on suspicion of false invoicing. The damage done is estimated to be substantial, newspaper reports say.BASF confirmed Monday that German authorities were investigating employees of the chemicals multinational firm, with the probe also affecting a number of external companies in connection with fraudulent invoicing.
The probe is led by prosecutors in the German city of Kaiserslautern. According to the Rheinpfalz newspaper, external partners had for years received money for work at BASF’s facility in Ludwigshafen that was never actually carried out.
According to a BASF spokesman, the fraud also involved four employees from the company itself.
Looking at the damage done
The sums involved in the scandal are said to run into millions of euros, with the Rheinpfalz reporting that investigators are talking about a double-digit-million figure illegally obtained through fake invoices.
Prosecutors confirmed the probe relating to bribery and corruption now focused on the four BASF employees thought to be involved in the scandal. Newspaper reports said one of the four staff in question had since died, with the Rheinpfalz insisting the perosn had committed suicide.
A first series of raids took place in late January when prosecutors searched the homes and offices of employers from some external companies, also seizing documents from workers at BASF itself.
hg/aos (AFP, dpa)
