Basketball link in Siemens trial

The next round of Siemens corruption trials will feature female basketball stars as witnesses.

A trial of former managers of Europe's biggest engineering conglomerate will involve testimony from more than 100 people.

National female basketball players Christina Rohde, Jana Krause and Ania Rosler are being called to testify about money intended for the company's employee association that ended up sponsoring - among other things - basketball teams.

Former central executive committee member Johannes Feldmayer and former employee association boss Wilhelm Schelsky go on trial in September on fraud and tax evasion charges.

The case is not directly linked to the billion-pound slush-fund scandal but part of the clean-up at Siemens that came in its aftermath.

The men are accused of misusing tens of millions of pounds intended for the Siemens staff association.