Legal proceedings and investigations. Like every globally operating company, Daimler has to deal with a variety of legal issues. In some cases the company itself seeks clarification in court, whereas in others such clarification is required by outside parties, e.g. in the course of investigations.

Several legal proceedings against Daimler are currently pending. These primarily consist of routine legal disputes related to the company’s business activities. You can find a comprehensive list of pending legal proceedings of major financial significance in the Annual Report 2006, p.194ff.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) are conducting an investigation into possible violations of law by Daimler, including the anti-bribery, record-keeping and internal control provisions of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). The company has voluntarily shared with the DOJ and the SEC information from its own internal investigation of certain accounts, transactions and payments, primarily relating to transactions involving governmental entities, and have provided the agencies with information pursuant to outstanding subpoenas and other requests. Daimler has also had communications with the office of a German public prosecutor regarding these matters. Comprehensive information on this matter can be found in the Annual Report p.195ff. and in the Annual Report 2006 on Form 20 F.

Social responsibility issues. The company played a pioneering role among the German companies who opened up to public scrutiny their corporate history during the Nazi regime. It has learned lessons from its study of history and sponsors educational projects in order to pass on these lessons. The Group also helped to establish the German business sector’s initiative “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future,” which has its headquarters in Berlin, and is providing it with ongoing personnel and financial support. To date, more than 1.6 million former forced laborers from the Nazi era have received approximately EUR 4.3 billion in compensation payments. In the coming years, the “Remembrance, Responsibility and Future” foundation will continue to be active in projects promoting human rights, international understanding and exchange programs for young people.