FRANKFURT (Reuters) - An employee of BASF's (DE:BASFn) Taiwan operations is under investigation for intellectual property infringement, the German chemicals group said.
Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau is conducting the investigation, and the employee has been suspended, BASF said in a statement on its website dated Jan. 6.
"We have taken immediate steps to support the investigation led by local law enforcement officials and protect the relevant information," BASF said.
BASF said in an email to Reuters on Monday that an unspecified number of other suspects in the case are former BASF employees. It declined to provide any estimate on losses.
The case comes amid fears among German officials and executives about industrial espionage involving Europe's largest manufacturing nation.
Reuters reported in November that German prosecutors are pressing criminal charges against a former employee of chemicals maker Lanxess (DE:LXSG) for allegedly stealing trade secrets to set up a Chinese copycat chemical reactor.