Second suspect arrested in Ferrostaal bribery probe

MUNICH/DUESSELDORF, Germany (Reuters) - German authorities detained a second person in an investigation into suspected corruption at Ferrostaal, the Essen-based group that develops and manages industrial projects.

"We confirm a second arrest," a spokeswoman for prosecutors in Munich said on Monday. She declined to give more details other than to say the probe of suspected bribery to win contracts focused "on a period that is a rather long time ago."

Investigators last week took one person into custody and searched offices at Ferrostaal, a former MAN AG unit in which Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) now owns a majority stake.

A Ferrostaal spokesman said only that the company was cooperating with the investigation.

MAN, which still owns a 30 percent stake in Ferrostaal, agreed in December to pay around 150 million euros ($201.6 million) to settle a probe into suspected bribery.

The Ferrostaal case is the latest in a series of corruption probes that have cast German companies in a negative light.

Carmaker Daimler AG is due to pay $185 million to settle U.S. charges that it greased foreign officials' palms with millions of dollars and luxury cars to win business.

Engineering group Siemens AG agreed in 2008 to pay $1.3 billion to end corruption probes in the United States and Germany.

(Reporting by Irene Preisinger and Tom Kaeckenhoff; Writing by Michael Shields; Editing by David Holmes)

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