Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/527016
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 14 JUNE 2015 4 News MATTHEW VELLA ACCUSATIONS will keep on fly- ing in the war of attrition between former Malta International Airport chief executive Markus Klaushof- er, MIA chairman Nicholas Gretz- macher and Vienna International Airport director Julian Jaeger. After kick-starting an unfair dismissal claim in the Industrial Tribunal when he turned down a €400,000 golden handshake, Klaushofer said he will be filing a criminal report against Gretz- macher for handing "secret and sensitive information" about him to Jaeger at Vienna International Airport (VIE). Klaushofer will also tell police that during his tenure as CEO at MIA, Julian Jaeger transmitted confidential information on the company's finances to the advan- tage of VIE, a 33% shareholder in the airport. "Julian Jaeger did this without the knowledge of all other sharehold- ers, including the government of Malta," Cedric Mifsud, lawyer for Klaushofer, told MaltaToday. He said Klaushofer will seek pro- tection under the Whistleblower Act to shed light on what he said was "the unilateral flow of financial information between MIA and Vi- enna International Airport still on- going to the prejudice of all other shareholders." Klaushofer's police report fol- lows a criminal report filed by MIA, claiming that the Austrian chief executive held unauthorised meetings in Paris with Antin Infra- structure to take over VIE's share in MIA. But Klaushofer claims it was his opposition to VIE's exclusive ac- cess to MIA's financial data that sowed the seeds of discord with Gretzmacher and Jaeger. "Although it was public knowl- edge that he was in Malta this week, the police did not request to inter- view him. He will cooperate to the full with the police, but there is no basis for criminal charges against him," Mifsud said. Klaushofer has told the Indus- trial Tribunal that he was offered a €400,000 golden handshake to leave MIA on condition that he does not divulge any further in- formation on an internal memo Gretzmacher wrote about him. MIA's lawyers have on their part indicated they are willing to dis- cuss an out-of-court settlement with Klaushofer. Klaushofer's €175,907 contract was cut short of its 2017 expiry when Jaeger asked him to vacate the CEO's post, citing "bad rela- tions" with Gretzmacher. Klaushofer claims his dismissal was motivated by VIE's and Gretz- macher's "aggressive demands" for MIA financial data. The former CEO said that upon legal advice he asked MIA's chief financial officer to desist from the practice. "My stance did not go down very well with Gretzmacher and I be- lieve that when Jaeger referred to a bad atmosphere between myself and the chairman, he was referring to my decision to stop the flow of sensitive information to VIE." mvella@mediatoday.com.mt TIM DIACONO THE chairman of the government's consultative body on hunting has refused to explain the rationale be- hind a recent recommendation to open an autumn trapping season, against EU warnings. Despite occupying a public role as chairman of the Ornis Committee, anthropologist Prof. Mark Anthony Falzon told MaltaToday that it was "not his job to speak to the press about Ornis-related matters". Moreover, parliamentary sec- retary for animal rights Roderick Galdes said that he "respects" Fal- zon's stance of public silence. "In his role as chairman of an au- tonomous advisory body, he is ex- pected to be impartial and should not prejudice his position," Galdes explained. "The Ornis Committee is an advisory board which is au- tonomous from the government. Therefore the government is not in a position to comment on the internal workings of the commit- tee." Falzon had spoken to this news- paper about Ornis' decision to open the 2014 autumn trapping season, which he had then defend- ed as a "fair" decision. On 27 May, Ornis recommended that finch trapping be continued this autumn, despite knowing that it would escalate European Com- mission legal proceedings against Malta. Indeed, only a day later, the EC formally warned Malta to end finch trapping. Despite this risk, Galdes told MaltaToday that the government is considering the Ornis recom- mendations, along with other ad- vice, and will announce its decision on trapping "in due course". On his part, the PN's spokesper- son on hunting Charlo Bonnici has declined to stick his neck out, say- ing it was too early to take a stance but that the PN was following the matter "very closely". "The EC's legal procedures were expected and it's the government that now needs to defend its deci- sion to re-open the finch trapping season," Bonnici said. Klaushofer to file police report over Vienna's access to MIA data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