UPDATE 1-Germany charges five with helping illegal turbine sales to Crimea

(Adds Siemens response, details)

BERLIN, March 27 (Reuters) - Prosecutors in Hamburg charged four Germans and one Swiss-French citizen with violating sanctions by helping export Siemens gas turbines to Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia, a prosecution spokesperson said on Wednesday.

According to the charge sheet, first reported by Wirtschaftswoche magazine, the five knew when they helped export the turbines, worth 111 million euros ($120.11 million), from Hamburg to St. Petersburg that their ultimate destination would be two power plants in Crimea.

A Siemens spokesperson said it continued to support authorities with their inquiries, as they had since the they first learned of the case in 2016. One of the suspects was still with the company, the spokesperson added, and all five were contesting the charges.

Western companies are barred from selling to Crimea, whose 2014 annexation is not recognised by any major government.

The business unit in question is now Siemens Energy , which was carved out of Siemens in 2020. Siemens continues to hold a minority stake.

A spokesperson for Siemens Energy said it was also cooperating with investigators.

($1 = 0.9241 euros) (Reporting by Thomas Escritt, editing by Kirsti Knolle and Christina Fincher)