Source: Deutsche Welle, 12 December 2009
The German government has begun investigating technology giant Siemens over two shipments to Iran which allegedly contained parts destined for the country’s nuclear arms industry.
German news magazine Der Spiegel reported Saturday that Siemens faces a government probe for selling technology to Iran that could have been used for the country’s nuclear missile program.
One of the cases involves a delivery of turbo compressors seized by customs officers in Hamburg. The shipment was worth 16 million euros and reportedly part of a larger order dispatched by a Swedish subsidiary of Siemens to an Iranian company.
In the other case, the magazine reported that the British navy stopped a Chinese ship containing computers near Dubai. The shipment was intended for an Iranian company. The computers, which are used to control nuclear reactors, were thought to have been sent to China by Siemens.
Siemens would not give specific details about the shipments. But the company told Der Spiegel that it did not break any German foreign trade laws. “Our business activities in Iran serve purely civil purposes and are in accord with international legal regulations,” a Siemens spokesperson told the magazine.
