Telecom privatization investigation

Anti-corruption police, Chamber commission, Dutch want investigation

Telecom privatization investigation

* The Telecom privatization scandal is picking up speed. The Netherlands wants to send a special governmental investigation team to the Czech Republic to join the police and a special investigative commission likely to be formed in the Chamber of Deputies.
Prague (čtk)
Allegations that the Netherlands telecommunications company KPN was involved in paying off Czech politicians and government representatives appeared on Dutch television Sunday evening. The program was about corruption in "Eastern" Europe. On that program, a former KPN employee came forward with the allegation that KPN had been involved in bribing not only SPT Telecom Czech Republic, but also a Ukrainian official who was in position to influence the privatization of a Ukrainian telecommunications company. The Dutch government is now interested in sending a special investigative team to the Czech Republic to join the growing list of Czech authorities which will likely be investigating the case.
Yesterday, a special police anti-corruption unit announced that it would investigate the case. The allegation is that representatives of the Dutch KPN company, a daughter company of TelSource, paid politicians or privatization officials bribes so that their buy bid would be accepted. According to Martin Mosinger, chairman of the Telecom Association of Small Shareholders, officials in political parties and governmental offices received three payments, each in the amount of 90 million Kč.
The SPT Telecom privatization process was mentioned last year in connection with a possible foreign account held by the ODS in Switzerland. ODS leader Václav Klaus, reacting to the allegations, said that 'It seems to me that the number of privatization scandals is quite small compared to the amount of privatizations which have taken place.'
KPN has denied ever paying any political party any money. A KPN spokesman also cast doubt on the Association which Mosinger represents, the Association of Small Shareholders. "As far as we know, there aren't any small shareholders."
In 1995, KPN bought a 27 procent share in SPT Telecom. The integrity of the deal was questioned right from the start.

George Griffis