[Der Spiegel-Germany] Andreas Wassermann - German technology has made it into an Iranian nuclear power plant despite an export ban. Prosecutors are investigating the case and the German Foreign Ministry is concerned about the damage to Germany's credibility. Between 2001 and 2004, electromagnetic brakes, switchgear, spring elements and special cables were bought up in Germany, bound for the Iranian nuclear power plant in Bushehr. A number of German companies, working hand-in-hand with foreign dealmakers, are suspected of circumventing export bans. Potsdam prosecutors believe they can prove that the now-liquidated Berlin company Vero Handels GmbH was involved in the acquisition of illegal material from Germany on behalf of the partially state-controlled Russian nuclear company Atomstroiexport (ASE) - material intended for export to Iran. In 1991 the German government decided not to approve any further shipments to Bushehr. "It looks as if Putin's nuclear firm deliberately violated German law," says one investigator.
2007-09-07 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive