Peter Hartz, the official at the centre of a bribery scandal surrounding car giant Volkswagen, has been given a two year-suspended prison sentence.
Hartz, a guiding hand behind former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s labour reforms, was fined 560,000 euros ($726,000; £369,000).
The former head of personnel at Europe’s biggest carmaker escaped jail after cutting a deal with prosecutors
Volkswagen’s former personnel chief Peter Hartz has admitted making illegal payments to union officials.
The confession, made through his lawyers, came at the start of his corruption trial in Germany.
A one-time advisor to former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, Mr Hartz faces 44 charges of breach of trust
Volkswagen has paid the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh around 2 million euros (£1.4m; $2.4m) in compensation for misdealings linked to the carmaker
Volkswagen has postponed making a decision on plans to build a new factory in India in the wake of a bribery scandal at the German carmaker.
Business daily Handelsblatt said VW boss Bernd Pischetsrieder had put the plans on hold amid allegations of bribes relating to the project.
Last week VW called in auditors KPMG to review bribery allegations at the firm
German car maker Volkswagen has warned that 30,000 jobs could be lost at its six German plants unless staff accept a two year pay freeze.
Unions argue a freeze is unacceptable, demanding instead a 4% annual rise.
Volkswagen says it needs to save 500m euros in costs to guarantee the future of its 176,000 strong German workforce in the face of growing competition from rivals operating out of low cost eastern European markets