BRUSSELS - The European Commission has asked German federal authorities to close down one German company by Friday after its inspectors uncovered evidence of fraud concerning British beef imports, a spokesman said. Clarifying earlier comments by EU Consumer Affairs Commissioner Emma Bonino that Brussels had asked for closure of "about three" companies, the spokesman said actual closure had been demanded in only one case. In the others Brussels had asked Bonn to strengthen controls, he told the Commission's daily press briefing. "There are several cases. One is closure. For the others, an imprecise number, it is to reinforce controls," the spokesman said. After briefing a European Parliament inquiry committee into mad cow disease Bonino had told reporters the Commission had "sufficient grounds to call for closure" following inspections by Commission officials between September 8 and 12. The demand -- which can be rejected by the German authorities as long as they justify their decision -- was made in a letter

sent on Monday night to Bonn, the Commission spokesman said. He said the Commission inspections uncovered "tens of thousands of tonnes" of what was suspected to be British beef, as labels had been removed. "It seems that the labels were taken off, so the origin is equivocal, so there are reasonable suspicions that it's of British origin, therefore in violation of the export ban," he told the European Commission's daily press briefing. The companies involved included cutting plants, cold storage and processing plants, the spokesman said. Bonino said it was unclear whether the beef was intended for the domestic or international market, although it was clear that much of it was destined for Russia. Last week the European Commission decided to open legal proceedings against Britain over beef exports discovered in other member states this summer, in breach of an 18-month-old worldwide ban. The ban was imposed in the consumer scare unleashed after the British government revealed that there could be a link between

mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) and its human equivalent. British Farm Minister Jack Cunningham has spoken of "sophisticated international fraud" in relation to the British beef.