Newsletter 2008/11/12 - Corruption Fighter
ABUJA/BERLIN (Own report) - In the midst of accusations of corruption, Berlin is using a German president's state visit to Nigeria to expand business relations with this West African nation. Germany is interested, above all, in the country's natural gas deposits, the seventh largest in the world. The German Eon Corp. seeks to profit from its exploitation and shipment to Europe, which is why it has now promised billions in investments. Within the framework of an energy agreement that is accompanying the natural gas deal, numerous German companies concluded contracts in Nigeria, among them the Siemens Corp.
Siemens had been recently placed on the Abuja government's blacklist,f or having paid millions in bribery to Nigerian government officials. During this current visit, the German President Horst Koehler insisted that decisive measures be undertaken to fight corruption. Human Rights organizations are demanding the same, but note that those Nigeriansf ighting corruption are receiving little support from Berlin - in their efforts to investigate German banks, accused of moneylaundering. Experts on West Africa say the corruption used by a major German construction company is "notorious."
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http://www.german-foreign-policy.com/en/fulltext/56201
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