Portugal accuses 10 of fraud in submarines case.-o caso dos submarinos
02.10.2009 15:19Portugal accuses 10 of fraud in submarines case
LISBON, Oct 2 (Reuters)
- Portuguese prosecutors have accused three Germans and seven Portuguese of fraud related to the purchase of two German submarines by Portugal in 2003, the prosecutor's office said on Friday. Prosecutors said that after concluding a long-running investigation in the two countries the 10 people were accused of forging documents and defrauding the state of 34 million euros in the case. An accusation by prosecutors is the first stage in the justice process in Portugal, and those accused can request a judge's confirmation before trial. The prosecutor's office would not reveal the names of those accused. Germany's industrial services company MAN Ferrostaal, a unit partly owned by MAN SE, strongly denied local media reports on the case mentioning the company. 'MAN Ferrostaal emphatically rejects suggestions that leading managers falsified documents or engaged in fraudulent activity. These accusations are false and untenable,' the company said in a statement sent to Reuters. MAN Ferrostaal is controlled by Abu Dhabi state-owned International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) and co-owned by Germany's MAN group. The original submarine deal involved trade offsets such as the creation of industrial projects in Portugal in exchange for the 800 million euro submarine order from Germany. (Reporting by Andrei Khalip and Anneli Palment; Editing by Charles Dick) Keywords: PORTUGAL SUBMARINES/ (andrei.khalip@thomsonreuters.com; (351) 213-509-209; RM: andrei.khalip.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
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