Prosecutors in Munich have charged a former senior employee of BMW with corruption and of having defrauded the German carmaker of millions of euros, a court spokesperson said on Wednesday.

       The man was charged with 18 counts of commercial corruption and 33 counts of breach of trust at the expense of the carmaker, a court spokesperson said, confirming a report in German magazine WirtschaftsWoche.

       A spokesperson for BMW said the company could not comment on an ongoing case.

       According to the Munich court, damages to BMW amounted to 2.7 million euros (￡2.26 million).

       The former employee allegedly received 2.4 million euros in kickbacks between 2007 and 2015 in exchange for awarding consulting contracts.

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       In total, five people have been charged, including the managing director of a now-insolvent consulting firm who is accused of bribery, and aiding and abetting embezzlement.

       A court spokesperson said all five deny the charges.

       Reuters