Deutsche Bahn won't rule out that its logistics unit Schenker could have participated in illegal price-fixing.

Deutsche Bahn Logistics chief Nobert Bensel said there are certain reasons to suspect that the EC Treaty's anti-trust rules may have been violated.

Deutsche Bahn last week said the offices of its Zurich-based Schenker transport unit were searched in South Africa, Switzerland and the US.

Bensel said the company will support the European Commission in all matters.

The commission last week carried out unannounced inspections at the offices of several international freight-forwarding companies as part of a US and European probe into pricing practices.

The commission didn't name them, but only said it has "reason to believe that the companies concerned may have violated EC Treaty rules that outlaw restrictive business practices’’.

The companies that were searched also included Switzerland-based Kuehne & Nagel International and Panalpina Welttransport Holding, among others.