Less than a week after Siemens announced that Hannes Apitzsch was its new finance chief, the company has suddenly revoked the appointment because of concerns about a union funding scandal.

Meanwhile, Reuters reports that Norwegian military officers have been charged with corruption, after allegedly accepting bribes in the form of gifts, expensive dinners and luxurious golfing trips from Siemens.

All this highlights the problems new chief executive Peter Löscher has cleaning up the company. The potential for graft is entrenched, perhaps it's part of the Siemens DNA.