September 6, 2004

Frankfurt - A real estate scandal in Frankfurt, in which big bribes changed hands between bankers, architects and estate agents, appears to be taking on national dimensions, prosecutors said on Monday.

"Real estate projects in towns other than Frankfurt are also being investigated," a spokeswoman for the prosecutors told AFP.

Chief prosecutor Wolfgang Schaupensteiner told the business daily

Handelsblatt: "Further suspects, new projects and new companies are involved."

Newspaper reports suggested that more than 10 projects nationwide could be enmeshed in the scandal.

Last week, prosecutors said they were investigating more than 40 people in Frankfurt, managers of real estate funds, bankers, architects and real estate brokers. As the scandal widens, the number of people under investigation is increasing.

The financial sector watchdog BaFin also announced at the weekend that it had opened its own investigation to try and ascertain whether private individuals who had invested in real estate funds had suffered any financial harm from the affair.

The head of an real estate fund belonging to Deka Bank, was booted out las week after the bank uncovered "irregularities" in its accounts.

The man had subsequently made a statements to the police which caused the the probe to widened, newspapers said.

DB Real Estate, the property unit of Deutsche Bank, was also being targeted by investigators. - AFP