Sacked MIA chief says allegations against him ‘blatant lies’

Former Malta International Airport chief executive Markus Klaushofer has categorically denied allegations reported in Austrian daily Die Presse that he had passed on business secrets to an international consortium attempting to buy a stake in MIA.

In a statement from his lawyer, Klaushofer said he had turned down a €400,000 settlement to file an unfair dismissal suit in the Industrial Tribunal.

Klaushofer, who was dismissed from MIA earlier in 2015, accused the airport’s shareholder Vienna International Airport and former MIA chief Julian Jaeger, of advancing the allegations.

“They are baseless and are unfounded in fact and in law. The fictitious claims coincide with the commencement of the proceedings instituted by Mr Klaushofer before the Industrial Tribunal for unfair dismissal from his post as CEO with MIA,” lawyer Cedric Mifsud said.

Klaushofer’s €400,000 parachute was offered “with the condition that he does not make any negative, disparaging or adverse comments against MIA.”

“One questions why such a settlement would have been proposed when Mr. Klaushofer was being so prejudicial to MIA. If this was the case the Board of Directors certainly was not acting in the best interests of the company as it was throwing good money down the drain when it could have dismissed Mr Klaushofer without any compensation,” Mifsud said.

Klaushofer said he never forwarded MIA business secrets to third parties or prejudiced the position of the company in any manner. “Mr Klaushofer has always acted in the best interests of MIA and all its shareholders, so much so that the share prices consistently increased during his tenure as CEO. The claims that Mr Klaushofer travelled to Paris to meet an international consortium interested in acquiring a stake in MIA is a blatant lie and reserves the right to institute civil and criminal defamation for the such malicious allegations,” Mifsud said.

Klaushofer also denied having purchased an expensive watch from MIA’s duty frees stores below cost price. According to Julian Jaeger and Vienna International Airport, Klaushofer allegedly acquired the Omega watch €3,000 cheaper than the normal sales price.

“The claim surrounding the acquisition of the watch from a duty free operator is also untruthful. Mr. Klaushofer acquired the said watch at the best price offered by the retailer and certainly was not under the cost price,” Mifsud said.

Klaushofer said he would give the Industrial Tribunal all evidence concerning its “illegal actions” on his unfair dismissal, and the actions of other individuals whose actions “were prejudicial to the shareholders of MIA”.

“The fact that MIA was so keen to put a muzzle on Mr Klaushofer is directly related to MIA wanting to conceal the true facts,” Mifsud said. “When it realised that Mr. Klaushofer was not willing to sign the settlement agreement it resorted to standard extra-judicial tactics by throwing accusations to divert attention from the court proceedings.”