BERLIN (AP) — German prosecutors are investigating Deutsche Telekom AG and its chief executive for suspected bribery in the Balkans, a prosecution spokesman said yesterday.

Deutsche Telekom said CEO Rene Obermann rejects the accusations, and added that the company doesn't tolerate corruption in any area. It said eight people were under investigation, not all of them Deutsche Telekom employees.

The investigation of 47-year-old Obermann, the company said, is linked to an alleged meeting with the head of Macedonia's Makedonski Telekom in 2005, in which he is accused of making approval of a dividend for MakTel contingent on there being no further opening of the country's telecommunications market to competitors. "The public prosecutor's office is linking this to alleged bribery payments made by third parties," Deutsche Telekom said.

Prosecutors refused to elaborate on the allegations, but said they started the investigation after being asked for legal assistance by US authorities in a case there. "The investigation now is being conducted to determine if there is a basis for further investigation or charges," Jan Van Rossum, a spokesman for prosecutors in Bonn, told AP.

Deutsche Telekom, the former German state telecommunications monopoly, is now a global communications firm that operates services and cell phone networks in countries such as the US, the Netherlands and in Eastern Europe.