Deutsche Bahn moves on bribery allegations

Germany’s Deutsche Bahn said Thursday it has dismissed several midlevel executives for paying bribes in Greece and at least two African nations, Algeria and Rwanda.

Allegations of the bribes were first reported several months ago to authorities, but DB has not moved on the matter until now.  DB said the activity took place through DB International, its actively growing international business that provides expertise to nations that are building or upgrading their passenger rail and rail transit services.

DB itself was first to make the scandal public, but it declined tosay how many employees were involved. It did note it was ending contracts with several consultants also suspected of illegal activity. German federal authorities said at least 10 individuals were involved.

The bribes allegedly involved passed back to purchasing managers and public officials in the customer country, often designated as consultant’s fees.