Siemens ex-CEO faces no criminal charges in probe : US Business

MUNICH/HAMBURG (Reuters) - Prosecutors investigating suspected bribery at German engineering group Siemens said on Friday they have found no evidence to warrant criminal charges against former Chief Executive Heinrich von Pierer.

However, he and other former company officials are being investigated for the administrative offence of breaching their corporate supervision duties, Munich prosecutors said in a statement.

They said no current Siemens executives or board members are being targeted in the investigation.

Siemens Chief Executive Peter Loescher declined to comment, saying only the findings confirmed trust in current management.

He reiterated to reporters in Hamburg that the company would seek damages from individuals if necessary.

Siemens stock fell 3.4 percent to 73.93 euros by 1057 GMT while the German blue-chip DAX index <.GDAXI> eased 1.3 percent.

The company has conducted its own investigation into the allegations and has acknowledged making "suspect payments" of 1.3 billion euros ($2 billion) to supposed advisers that may, in fact, have been used to win contracts illegally.

The energy-to-transportation conglomerate, one of Germany's biggest companies, has been fined 201 million euros by a German court in the case.< It is also being investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Department of Justice and faces being fined or banned from public contracts in the United States.

Von Pierer, 67, was Siemens CEO from 1992 to 2005 and then became chairman. He resigned over the affair last year despite the fact he personally was not accused of any crime.

(Reporting by Jens Hack and Nicola Leske; Editing by David Hulmes)

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