Cologne, Germany  - A senior executive at Russian gas monopoly Gazprom is under investigation in Germany over the claim that he was a German secret-police officer in the communist era, a prosecutor confirmed Tuesday.

The newspaper Die Welt was set to name the man on Wednesday as Felix Strehober, chief financial officer of Gazprom Germania.

It said it was possible he would be charged in Cologne with perjury after making a statutory declaration last year, "I have never been a salaried employee of the Ministry of State Security (Stasi) or the equivalent."

Die Welt said more than 100 pages in official German archives showed the East Berlin-born man had been an undercover officer of the Stasi, which was hated for its surveillance and imprisonment of ordinary Germans.

The German subsidiary of Gazprom, the world's biggest gas company, said the case was "an employee's private matter." A company spokesman said Gazprom did not see any reason to take action, and added that Strehober had placed the matter in the hands of a lawyer.

A statutory declaration is a legal affirmation equivalent to a statement under a religious oath. (dpa)