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Willi Betz executives accused of bribery
Page 8
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by Alex Mannschatz and Chris Tindall German Police have conducted a major raid on the headquarters of haulier Willi Betz after allegations of bribery were made against executives of the transport giant.
The Public Attorney's Office also claims the company has saved millions in social insurance contributions by using illegally-employed drivers.
On 26 March, 600 police officers and employees of Germany's State Bureau of Criminal Investigation swooped on the firm's offices near Stuttgart.
At the same time, a further 200 officers raided branches across Europe, where boxes of documents were seized and taken away for examination.
The allegations have been made against four company executives, who are alleged to have paid bribes amounting to millions of deutschmarks to senior officials from various Eastern European countries, in order to acquire licences for branch offices located in their countries.
This could effectively allow transport between EU nonmember countries and Western European countries without requiring drivers to have a residence permit. One executive currently has a warrant issued for his arrest.
The large-scale raids were triggered by earlier raids in September 2001 on German carrier Fixemen where data on other major transport companies was recovered.
A statement from the company continues to refute the claims, saying the payments made were all legitimate: "Willi Betz does not employ or use drivers from non-EU countries, but commissions third-country enterprises as carriers. They have valid residence and work permits without exception.
The pertinent allegations by the authorities are incorrect land] we are sure that a fair and proportionate investigation will lead to a quick and complete clarification." The company's management has always denied accusations of Illegal cabotage and employment.
Reports suggest the raids were part of the biggest operation of its kind against white-collar crime in the German transport industry.
• christophertindall®rbi.co.uk