MIA files police report against former CEO

The former CEO of Malta International Airport, Markus Klaushofer, is alleged to have asked MIA employees to inflate predictions for passenger figures according to a police report filed by MIA against the sacked CEO.

Klaushofer is currently seeking redress in the Industrial Tribunal for unfair dismissal, and has accused Julian Jaeger, the chief operating officer of Vienna International Airport, of advancing allegations in public against him.

Jaeger is a former MIA chief executive officer; Vienna Airport is a shareholder of MIA.

The Austrians have accused Klaushofer of having held an unauthorised meeting with multinational Antin Infrastructure in Paris, in an attempt at buying out Vienna International Airport.

The Maltese police have been requested by MIA to institute criminal proceedings against Klaushofer for having allegedly leaked company information to Antin Infrastructure, which has various business interests in roads and airports in Europe. Klaushofer is believed to have met with the French company in Paris in December 2014 and January 2015, purportedly to discuss investment in the Malta International Airport.

Klaushofer was later dismissed from his job after being accused of involving himself in unauthorised talks with the French company. Vienna Airport were alerted to the meetings when Klaushofer’s name was accidentally mentioned by the French company to representatives from Vienna Airport.

The suspicions led to internal investigations, which uncovered a thread of communications between Klaushofer and Antin, apart from Klaushofer’s visits to Paris on company time.

Apart from that, Klaushofer is reported to have requested senior staff to inflate passenger movement predictions.

Insiders who spoke to MaltaToday claim that Klaushofer could have been concerned at news that Vienna’s stake in MIA could be sold, fearing he would lose his executive post.

On his part, Klaushofer has accused Jaeger, a former friend who supported his appointment in 2012, of advancing allegations reported about him in the press.

He has denied leaking any company information, and indeed even refused a golden handshake of €400,000 to battle out MIA at the Industrial Tribunal.

One of the smaller issues MIA queried was Klaushofer’s decision to purchase a luxury Omega watch at a discount from one of the duty-free shops operated by the Nuance Group at MIA – the price was allegedly €3,000 cheaper.

Company policy precludes staff from demanding discounts at shops at MIA.

Earlier this week, Klaushofer’s lawyer said the allegations against the former CEO were “baseless and 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.

The lawyer said that 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 would have been 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 he 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 free stores below cost price.

“The claim surrounding the acquisition of the watch from a duty free operator is also untruthful. Mr Klaushofer acquired the 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 the “illegal actions” on his unfair dismissal, and the actions of other individuals whose actions “were prejudicial to the shareholders of MIA”.