Deutsche Telekom still under investigation

Charges levelled at Deutsche Telekom AG for allegedly overstating the value of its real estate assets on its balance sheets and in the company's prospectuses for its IPO and subsequent listings remain under investigation by the Bonn public prosecutor, the prosecutor has said.

The company was cleared of charges of false accounting and investment fraud on its 1995 and subsequent balance sheets, the prosecutor said.

The former monopoly was also cleared of charges of not giving an accurate picture of its financial situation in its May 2000 prospectus, it said.

The charges, made at the beginning of 2003, related specifically to the company not having given an accurate picture of the its personnel costs, other costs, sinking profit margins and risks related to its UK mobile unit One2One, now known as T-Mobile UK, the prosecutor said.

Deutscher Schutzvereinigung fuer Wertpapierbesitz (DSW), whose 25,000-strong membership makes it Germany's biggest lobby group for small shareholders, said that the fact the prosecutor had not completely put a lid on the charges was "a positive signal."