Frankfurt prosecutors on Friday said they were investigating Faurecia chief executive Pierre Levi on suspicion he abetted corruption by covering up bribes to car makers.
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Prosecutor Sybille Gottwald told Reuters that Levi acknowledged in writing that he knew since 2001 of bribes the instrument panel and door specialist paid to win contracts.
Both Faurecia and its parent company, PSA Peugeot Citroen, declined to comment when approached by the news agency.
Tipped off by finance authorities about dubious transfers, prosecutors raided Faurecia offices in Germany last year and held two staff for questioning about payments in particular to Volkswagen, Audi and BMW, Gottwald told Reuters.
She also said they found evidence that payments went back to 1998 at automotive supplier Sommer Allibert, which Faurecia bought in 2001.
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By GlobalData“It appears the bribery system was acquired as well,” she was quoted as saying.
According to Reuters, the prosecutor said Levi, who has been Faurecia’s chairman and chief executive since May 2000, learned then about the bribes: “Levi has confessed this in the meantime and therefore he is a target of the probe.”
The report added that Frankfurt prosecutors had said 10 automotive supply companies from both Germany and other countries were implicated in the scandal though Gottwald herself did not say how many automakers were involved.
Levi told Reuters in Paris on Monday: “We are cooperating and we hope that there will be clarity but until the end of the probe I cannot comment.”
Reuters added that German media have reported that Volkswagen chief executive Bernd Pischetsrieder told PSA that VW – which accounts for more than 20% of Faurecia’s sales – no longer wanted to work with Levi. VW reportedly confirmed it wrote to PSA but gave no details.
According to the news agency, Frankfurt prosecutors said on Monday that their year-long investigation of about 20 suspects centred on whether a French car parts manufacturer paid bribes which they suspected were worth a total of EUR600,000 to EUR800,000.
