Siemens to sue ex-board members for damages-paper

FRANKFURT, July 22 (Reuters) - Siemens (SIEGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) plans to sue 10 former board members, including its former chairman and chief executive, for damages in connection with a corruption and bribery scandal, according to a report in a German daily.

Siemens's supervisory board is due to approve the move next week, Suddeutsche Zeitung said on Tuesday without citing sources.

The supervisory board has concluded that board members active between 2003 and 2006 did not follow up signs of corruption and bribery and therefore bear the blame for the scandal, which has led to a worldwide investigation, the paper said.

Siemens declined to comment.

Siemens, which makes a wide range of products from medical scanners and trains to wind turbines and light bulbs, is being investigated on allegations that it bribed customers to win contracts.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is also probing the matter. The company could face fines or U.S. sanctions that would exclude it from bidding for public contracts.

The investigation, one of the biggest bribery probes in German corporate history, has forced the departure of its chairman, Heinrich von Pierer, and chief executive Klaus Kleinfeld.

(Reporting by Nicola Leske; Editing by Erica Billingham)