ATHENS, May 21 (Reuters) - A former director of engineering firm Siemens' Greek unit was taken into custody on Thursday pending trial on charges of bribery and money laundering in contracts with Greek telecoms group OTE, a court official said.
Former general director Prodromos Mavrides has denied any wrongdoing in the 1997 case, in which prosecutors have also charged other ex-Siemens ( SI - news - people ) Greece staff over alleged bribes for contracts with the then state-controlled telecoms group.
'Last night, the investigating prosecutor ruled Mavrides should be kept in custody pending trial,' a court official, who declined to be identified, told Reuters. 'He was taken to jail this morning.'
The scandal is one of a series being investigated by Greek prosecutors. Although others have come to light in recent years, no Greek politician has yet been prosecuted.
Siemens ended one of the biggest corporate corruption investigations in history when it agreed in December last year to pay about 1 billion euros ($1.38 billion) in fines and penalties as a result of investigations by U.S. and German authorities into bribes it paid to win contracts.
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