BERLIN, March 27 (Reuters) - Prosecutors in Hamburg

charged four Germans and one Swiss-French citizen with violating

sanctions by helping export a Siemens gas turbine 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, from the port of Hamburg

to St. Petersburg that their ultimate destination would be two

power plants in Crimea.

Western companies are barred from selling to Crimea, whose

2014 annexation is not recognised by any major government.

Siemens did not immediately respond to a request for comment.