German prosecutors target Metro unit ex-worker in VAT tax fraud probe

DUESSELDORF, Germany (Reuters) - German prosecutors are investigating a former employee of Metro AG's online consumer electronics retailer Redcoon as part of a wider probe into suspected fraud across EU national borders involving value-added tax (VAT) claims, a prosecutor in the city of Wuerzburg said.

The suspect, who was not a manager or executive of Redcoon - part of Metro's Media-Saturn subsidiary - has been remanded in custody, prosecutor Thorsten Seebach said on Friday.

German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel first reported the case in a summary of an article to be published on Saturday.

"Redcoon and Media-Saturn are the injured parties," a spokeswoman for the electronics chain said.

She said Redcoon was taking civil legal steps against a former senior employee and the company's former management and was seeking damages. She declined to provide further details.

Parent company Metro, which bought Redcoon in 2011, was not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Nikola Rotscheroth; Writing by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Greg Mahlich)