The Colombian Defense Ministry denies accepting a $1 million bribe from a German company in exchange for a contract to sell military vessels, reports BBC Mundo.
The Colombian Defense Ministry is implicated in an investigation into German engineering group Ferrostaal, which is accused of brokering a deal in 2006 to pay $1 million to the country’s officials to secure the sale of a coast guard vessel worth $38 million, according to a report by Der Spiegel published last week.
The ministry denies the allegations, saying that it did not negotiate over such a product in that year.
The Colombian government says it will investigate the case, and acknowledged being in contact with Ferrostaal, which represents several German companies which supply Colombia with submarines and petrol tankers.
In Germany, Ferrostaal is currently under investigation for allegedly organizing bribes on behalf of other firms for a fee, reports Der Spiegel.
With an annual turnover of $2.2 billion, Ferrostaal has customers in over 60 countries.