German engineering giant Siemens said Thursday it had named Ralph Thomas as the new chief financial officer of its industry unit, after revoking an earlier appointment owing to an ongoing corruption probe. Thomas, 46, is currently head of Siemens' corporate finance and taxes unit, a company statement said.
He got the nod in place of Hannes Apitzsch following Siemens investigation of records at the Nuremberg public prosecutor's office in connection with the AUB trade union case. Investigators are looking into allegations that Siemens gave several million euros (dollars) in funding to the head of the AUB trade union to build it up as a counterweight to the large, established IG Metall labour union.
Siemens said it had revoked Apitzsch's nomination as a precautionary measure, adding that his compliancy screening would still be re-evaluated by its own lawyers as well as by US law firm Debevoise & Plimpton.
The industry division is one of Siemen's three pillars, along with its energy and medical units. Corruption scandals at the group have already led to the departure of its former boss and several top executives. In early November, Siemens said it had uncovered 1.3 billion euros (1.9 billion dollars) in various dubious transactions, illustrating the extent of a corruption scandal that has engulfed the company. The group has also allegedly made payments in several countries to obtain contracts.