Deutsche Telekom chief executive René Obermann is under investigation by German police in a bribery probe involving the company’s Hungarian subsidiary.
Police raided the homes and offices of Obermann and other executives in August as part of a preliminary investigation into the case, FT.com reports.
Obermann issued a statement describing the allegations as “baseless” and said the company had been cooperating with authorities for five years over the bribes alleged to have been paid by Hungarian business Magyar Telekom.
“René Obermann has never been a subject or target of the investigation,” spokesman Mark Nierwetberg said in a statement mailed to telecomasia.net, referring to an investigation by US SEC.
Nierwetberg said German prosecutors had begun investigating the Magyar fraud “in response to a request for legal assistance received from the United States.”
Deutsche Telekom’s offices were also searched as part of the probe into the role of eight managers in an alleged fraud at Magyar Telekom, involving the awarding of contracts worth €24 million ($31.2m) in 2005.