Germany drops proceedings against Vodafone's Gent

The mobile phone operator Vodafone yesterday insisted that its chief executive Sir Christopher Gent was in the clear and was not being investigated by German authorities as part of their inquiry into payments made to executives at Germany's Mannesmann.

German prosecutors, who have been investigating payments made to certain executives at Mannesmann after Vodafone bought the company in 2000, confirmed earlier this week they had charged six people.

While Vodafone had said it was not aware of any action being taken against the company or its directors, fears mounted that Sir Christopher might still have been part of a wider inquiry into the affair especially after a news agency reported that the prosecutor's office had named him.

But Vodafone hit back last night, protesting Sir Christopher's innocence. Vodafone said: "Sir Christopher's solicitor in Germany has received a formal letter from the Dusseldorf State Prosecutor's Office, dated 11 February 2003, stating that proceedings against Sir Christopher had been dropped." Vodafone said it only received the letter yesterday.

Vodafone's statement came after a spokesman for the prosecutor's office was reported as having said: "The investigation against five others, including Mr Gent, is going on. We do not know whether at the end of this investigation we would file charges against them."

The prosecutors, who began the inquiry a year and a half ago, had originally been investigating seven Mannesmann executives and another five executives, including Sir Christopher.