German prosecutors probe inspection firm over Brazil dam burst

German prosecutors are investigating whether employees of inspection company TÜV Süd acted illegally by allowing the German firm to sign off on a dam owned by iron ore miner Vale SA in Brazil before it burst in January, killing 300 people. The probe follows a criminal complaint against two TÜV Süd employees in Germany filed by a German lawyer engaged by relatives of victims of the disaster, a spokeswoman for the prosecutors said on Thursday.

The criminal complaint is also supported by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and Bischoefliches Hilfswerk Misereor. The prosecutors are looking for incriminating evidence as well as for exonerating evidence, the spokeswoman added.

Representatives of TÜV Süd were not available for comment. The allegations are complex. According to German law, some of the key allegations would only apply to people in management positions. She said one of the people being investigated is a lawyer but declined to give further details.

TÜV Süd certified the dam which burst as safe despite evidence from its own readings that the structure was "way below" the recommended safety level, prosecutors in Brazil have said. In February, the firm said it would halt providing certifications for vale's tailings damns which hold back mining waste.