Infineon memory boss quits

Police raid, corruption allegations

By John Oates • Get more from this author

Posted in Financial News, 18th July 2005 09:21 GMT

Hitachi IT Operations Analyzer: 30-day free trial.

The boss of Infineon's memory business has quit the company and the board while police investigate corruption charges.

Andreas von Zitzewitz offered his resignation on Saturday following police raids on Infineon's offices on Friday.

Von Zitzewitz faces possible charges relating to "payments made for contracts regarding motorsport sponsoring". Infineon is not under investigation and is cooperating fully with police.

A statement on Infineon's website reads: "Dr von Zitzewit declared his resignation, to spare the company the burden of the ongoing investigation and to be able to fully concentrate on the expected court case."

The news comes at a bad time for Infineon which was planning an Initial Public Offering of its memory unit later this year. Without a boss in place this will be difficult to keep on track.

Infineon CEO Dr Wolfgang Ziebart will run the memory business until a replacement is found.

Infineon's motorsport ventures include a partnership with the Sonoma race track, or Infineon Raceway, just north of San Francisco. ®