DW-World.de
Deutsche Welle

German prosecutors in Munich have said there is not enough evidence to warrant launching criminal proceeding against former Siemens CEO and supervisory board director Heinrich von Pierer. But Von Pierer and other former board members could still face misdemeanour charges for failing in their duty to supervise the company's affairs. The current supervisory board is not affected by Friday's decision. The group has acknowledged the existence of special funds worth 1.3 billion euros which were used to illicitly obtain foreign contracts. Last October Siemens agreed to pay a fine of 201 million euros to put an end to some German legal proceedings and has also incurred compliance costs of around 1.8 billion euros.