Austrian police network tender possibly influenced - report

New allegations have emerged in the corruption scandal surrounding Telekom Austria. A report in the magazine Profil, carried by Austrian news agency APA, said lobbyist Alfons Mensdorff Pouilly has been accused of receiving EUR 3.7 million in illegal payments for services provided in the tender for the police's digital radio network in 2004. All the major political parties have called for a parliamentary investigation into the accusations, while the governing OVP was more cautious, saying only it expects a full explanation. The accusation is that Mensdorf-Pouilly received EUR 1.1 million from Telekom Austria and up to EUR 2.6 million from Motorola, which partnered with Alcatel in the Tetron consortium to bid for the contact to build the police network. The Tetron consortium won the contract in a second tender, after the then minister for interior, Ernst Stasser (OVP), took the contract away from the original winner, the Mastertalk consortium, which included Siemens, RZB, Verbund and Wr. Stadtwerke. Telekom Austria was responsible for delivering the infrastructure to the consortium. Mensdorff-Pouilly reacted through his lawyer, saying that the EUR 1.1 million received from Telekom Austria was completely legal for services rendered and can be found in his administration and financial figures for the concerned period.