MUNICH; Germany — The Siemens black money affair has reached the company's highest management level: Monday (Dec. 11), former member of the central management board Thomas Ganswindt has been arrested.

According to a Reuters report, Ganswindt has been has been charged by another Siemens employee already in pre-trial confinement. According to the employee's confession, he had informed Ganswindt of the black money system already two years ago and Ganswindt had tolerated it.

Ganswindt, a long-time Siemens manager, was appointed member of the central management board in October 2004. In this position, he was among other responsible for the ailing communication division of the German conglomerate. The present bribery investigations focus mainly on this branch.

Ganswindt was said to be a serious competitor to present CEO Klaus Kleinfeld in the succession of former CEO Heinrich von Pierer. He left the company last September.

Tuesday (Dec. 12), the company for the first time publicly admitted that it was involved in corruption practices. According to media releases, the company's chief financial officer Joe Kaeser said that the company presently is in the process of reviewing transfers amounting to €420 million ($554 million). This includes the possibility that the scandal is even bigger than estimated. Hitherto, the amount in question was €200 million.