DaimlerChrysler hires ex-FBI head Freeh amid probe

DETROIT (Reuters) - DaimlerChrysler AG (DCXGn.DE) (DCX.N) has hired former FBI Director Louis Freeh to serve as an independent monitor as it concludes a two-year internal investigation into cases of suspected bribery by company representatives, the automaker said on Tuesday.

The hiring of Freeh was first reported by the Detroit News, which said that by bringing on an independent watchdog in Freeh, DaimlerChrysler hoped to minimize any sanctions it might face from U.S. government regulators.

DaimlerChrysler spokesman Han Tjan said Freeh's hiring as a consultant was one step in an effort to investigate the suspected bribery and to take steps to prevent future such cases.

"The internal investigation is still ongoing and we are determined to act to address all of the issues we've identified," Tjan said. "We are taking these matters extremely seriously."

DaimlerChrysler first disclosed in March that it had found evidence that company representatives made "improper payments" to foreign officials in "Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe," but provided no further details at the time.

The Detroit News quoted unnamed people familiar with the investigation as saying that the probe had uncovered "multiple instances" of bribery by company officials.

The newspaper reported that the findings and related documents had been turned over to federal officials.

The bribery case is the target of a civil investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and a criminal probe by the Justice Department.

A spokesman for Freeh, who left the FBI in 2001 and who now works as an independent legal consultant, could not be immediately reached.

The case stems from a lawsuit filed in federal court in Detroit in 2004 in which a former company accountant claimed that he was fired in part because he had complained to superiors about secret bank accounts kept by the company's Mercedes unit.

That lawsuit was settled out of court for undisclosed terms last year.

A second whistleblower case was settled by DaimlerChrysler earlier this month, the Detroit News said.