GERMAN prosecutors, ending a three and a half year investigation, said yesterday that criminal charges had been filed against four former General Motors Corp executives. They are alleged to have stolen secret documents when they left GM in 1993 to join Volkswagen AG.

But prosecutors said they found no evidence VW executives colluded in the transfer of secrets contrary to allegations made by GM even though they said some of the data, was used by the former GM workers in presentations to VW executives.

Charges were filed against former VW production executive Mr Jose Ignacio Lopez de Arriortua and three other former GM employees identified as Mr Jose Manuel Gutierrez, Mr Rosario Piazza and Mr Jorge Alavarez, who followed Mr Lopez to VW in March 1993.

The aim of obtaining these documents was to use them in the interest of VW after the transfer there," said Mr Gerhard Andres, chief prosecutor at the Darmstadt prosecutors office.

Mr Lopez and the others, if convicted, could face up to five years prison or a fine. But legal experts say, first time offenders for such an offence do not usually face prison terms.

Lawyers for Mr Lopez said in a statement, after the charges were announced, that they were based on statements from GM officials and circumstantial evidence.

They also said many documents in question had been handed out to suppliers at GM meetings.

Prosecutors said the charges did not measure the amount of damage GM and its German unit, Adam Opel AG, suffered because that task was not part of their probe.

Mr Andres also clearly stated that prosecutors in the course of their investigation had found no evidence that VW staff had colluded with Mr Lopez in the theft of documents from GM.

"I say with all clarity that we always kept an eye on this suspicion," Mr Andres told a news conference.

"But the investigation found no sufficient indications that someone from VW in any way colluded in the alleged deeds as we have presented them here relating to Mr Lopez and to the others."

Volkswagen said yesterday the charges against Mr Lopez cleared the way for fresh talks with GM to settle its US racketeering lawsuit against the German car manufacturer since it was not implicated into the German criminal investigation.