ACTIONS CORNER

Daimler is paying SEC 200 million dollars to end investigations for alleged slush funds. Two group subsidiaries had pleaded guilty. With the payment, investigations by the US Department of Justice and securities regulator SEC were ended. In 2004 SEC opened investigations of the carmaker after an ex employee had given indications of slush funds. These had been kept in order to bribe foreign government representatives. Neither the company nor the authorities were prepared to make statements.

Eckhard Spoerr and Axel Krieger were rightly condemned for insider trading, found the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe. The ruling, published on 22 February, shows that the former Freenet CEO and CFO could hope for milder punishment. Hamburg Regional Court had fined both in January 2009. Spoerr was to pay €300,000 and Krieger €150,000. On top of this was the gross gain from the share sales, of around €700,000 each. In the judge’s view the fines had been wrongly calculated, to the disfavour of the culprits.

Gabriele Kröner was successful in her action for avoidance against Fresenius. Frankfurt Regional Court found in the favour of the action for avoidance by plaintiff against AGM resolutions of 2009 on all points and declared the disputed AGM resolutions now null and void, stated its presiding judge. The company’s former Supervisory Board member and step-daughter of founder Else Kröner had complained of conflicts of interest on the Supervisory Board of which shareholders had not been adequately informed at the meeting on 8 May 2009.

Munich public prosecutors have brought charges against Thomas Ganswindt. The former Siemens executive has been accused inter alia of corruption. A decision on an administrative fine had already reached the stage of being unappealable. No indications were given as to the amounts claimed. The public prosecutors also imposed an initial administrative fine on ex Board member Jürgen Radomski. He has to pay three million euros.

Investigations of the private life of Pierre-Pascal Urbon, CFO of SMA Solar Technology, have begun. He disputes the accusations against him. To avoid negative repercussions on the Solar Technology group, he has asked to be placed on leave until the investigations are over. The Supervisory Board will then decide on any further action. SMA has so far not given any indications on the object of the proceedings. All it said was that Urbon would engage actively in the investigations so as to provide proof that the accusations against him were false. The public prosecutors suspect Urbon of a sexual offence “against a female employee”.