By Kate Hanaghan, 21 February 2002 09:10
NEWS France Telecom has accused German telecoms company MobilCom of moving funds from a subsidiary to an investment company owned buy its chief executive's wife. Gerhard Schmid's wife Sybille Schmid-Sindran acquired five per cent of MobilCom last year. At that point her husband denied knowing who owned that five per cent. When the shareholder's identity was revealed last month, France Telecom lost confidence in Schmidt. France Telecom is accusing Sybille Schmid-Sindran of acquiring this stake with the transferred funds. The two companies have a rocky relationship. While France Telecom owns 28.5 per cent of MobilCom and has two members on the supervisory board, the future of the relationship could be in trouble. Yesterday a France Telecom's only member of the MobilCom management board resigned. Schmid could sell his 42 per cent stake in the company to Orange - also a shareholder - if he so chose.
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