German tax authorities search Ryanair bases in employment agency probe

BERLIN (Reuters) - German investigators and customs authorities have searched several Ryanair (RYA.I) bases and the homes of Ryanair pilots, as part of a probe into tax evasion by two employment agencies through which pilots are employed, prosecutors and pilot representatives said on Wednesday.

The two service companies are suspected of having evaded taxes and withheld wages, a spokesman for state prosecutors in Koblenz told Reuters.

The Ryanair Pilot Group, which represents Ryanair pilots in industrial matters but is not affiliated with the Ryanair group, said five Ryanair bases - Cologne, Niederrhein, Baden-Baden, Berlin Schoenefeld and Bremen - had been searched and that homes of pilots had also been raided.

Ryanair said it was not the subject of the German probe, but that it had met with the authorities to assist them.

"Ryanair requires all of its pilots, both directly employed and contractor, to be fully tax compliant at all times. Should the German authorities require any further assistance, we'll be happy to provide it," it said in a statement.

(Reporting by Victoria Bryan and Peter Maushagen; Editing by Jane Merriman)