Lo scandal of the emissions rigged by Volkswagen it's terrible but it's only the latest in a long series that in the last ten years has seriously undermined the image and credibility of the German car manufacturer but also of the biggest names in Corporate Germany. From tax fraud to espionage and corruption, many large German groups have had it all. Here are which ones
VOLKSWAGEN
The Wolfsburg-based automaker has already gone through difficult times such as in the time of the management scandal about ten years ago. A real case of corruption in which Volkswagen managers offered some trade union members present on the group's board of directors money and escorts in exchange for votes within the board itself.
SIEMENS
The bill to pay for Siemens for corruption activities to win contracts all over the world is very high: 1,5 billion euros. The corruption scandal at Siemens, which emerged in 2006, led the German giant to pay out 600 million to the German authorities, 800 million to the American authorities and another 100 million to international non-profit organizations that fight corruption in business.
DEUTSCHE POST
In 2008 the CEO of Deutsche Post, Klaus Zumwinkel resigned after being investigated for tax fraud for having transferred 10 million euros to Liechtenstein.
DEUTSCHE BANK
For one of the largest and most important banks in Germany two very heavy scandals within a few years: in December 2012 the accusation of tax fraud in relation to the certification of carbon emissions, also known as the CO2 scandal, arrives. Added to this is the Libor scandal, i.e. the case linked to the manipulation of the Libor rate and other reference benchmarks for the interbank market for which he will have to pay a total of 2,5 billion dollars in fines to the US and British authorities.
BAYER
The German pharmaceutical group is often grappling with billionaire lawsuits such as the one underway in the United States where 5,6 billion dollars are at stake. In 2014, again in the US, Bayer has already disbursed 1,9 billion dollars in compensation to victims of drospirenone, a drug found in contraceptive pills.
LUFTHANSA
In the past years it had emerged that the executives of the German airline controlled some workers of the company by spying on them in their private lives. Added to this is the Germanwings disaster of the flight of the Lufthansa low-cost airline which crashed in the French Alps due to a crazy gesture by the co-pilot.
