The U.S. Department of Justice has submitted documentation regarding the Daimler case to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Russia, concerning the bribery of politicians and public officials by the German vehicle manufacturer, which has been prosecuted in the U.S.
The case, which has been judicially closed in the U.S. with the convictions of several Daimler managers, covers the company’s corrupt practices that lasted from 1998 and took place in 22 countries, including Croatia. According to data known from court documents, between 2000 and 2005, Daimler spent approximately five million euros in Russia to bribe Russian officials and managers in order to obtain contracts with state institutions. This primarily involves officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, municipal authorities of Moscow, and the city of Novy Urengoy, which is home to large oil and gas fields.
Although the details of the entire affair are well known to the public thanks to the proceedings in the U.S., judicial authorities in Russia have yet to take steps to identify and prosecute those who received bribes. With this ‘gift’ from their American colleagues, they will no longer have an excuse to delay such actions, Russian media comment, stating that this is an opportunity to show that they are serious about combating corruption, which is considered a major problem in Russian business practices. Namely, the prosecutor’s office must decide within ten days after receiving relevant information about a case whether to investigate potential criminal offenses or declare that the investigation has no basis. (Davorka Zmijarević)
