Athens - Greece on Friday issued a second international warrant for the arrest of a former official at the local branch of German industrial giant Siemen AG, accused of corruption over a state telecom contract. Court officials issued the warrant for the arrest of former Siemens executive Christos Karavelas after he failed to appear Friday in court to answer charges of bribery and money laundering over a deal signed between Siemens and Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE) in 1997.
His lawyer said that he was in Germany and not able to appear in court.
Karavelas is the second suspect in the Siemens scandal in Greece to flee abroad, after former Greek director Michalis Christoforakos, who has also taken refuge in Germany.
Police arrested former Siemens employees Giorgos Skarpelis and Ilias Georgiou late Friday, and the two men will appear Saturday before a public prosecutor.
Greek authorities have charged a total of six former Siemens Greece officials, two of whom are in jail pending trial as well a former official with the country's largest telecom company OTE.
Siemens is under investigation in several countries over allegations of bribery and corruption in its communications sector.
The company launched its own investigations and is cooperating with foreign officials in all investigations outside of Germany.
