An Austrian news weekly reported a few days ago that U.S. enforcement authorities are investigating an Austrian lobbyist and Motorola over alleged bribes to government officials, according to an AFP story.
“From April 2004 onwards, Motorola apparently transferred up to €2.2 million ($3.12 million) to three firms controlled by lobbyist Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly,” the report said.
Motorola’s agent, Mensdorff-Pouilly, then allegedly used the money to make “illegal payments” to key political figures in Europe and the Middle East, it said.
Mensdorff-Pouilly, 58, was charged in 2010 by the U.K. Serious Fraud Office in connection with the BAE case. The charges were later dropped. The Austrian aristocrat was reportedly awarded €430,000 in compensation for the week he spent in custody in the U.K.
A German-language Wikipedia entry alleges a possible link between Mensdorff-Pouilly and the Siemens bribery scandal. The prosecutor’s office in Vienna, the entry says, examined Mensdorff-Pouilly’s 2007 work for Siemens as a consultant for part of a Hungarian truck toll project. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Motorola was in a consortium with Telekom Austria, which was separately accused of other corrupt payments and is the subject of investigations in Austria.
The report said the SEC is investigating Motorola’s alleged role.
Motorola Inc., based in Schaumburg, Illinois, changed its name in January to Motorola Solutions, Inc.
Motorola Solutions, Inc. trades on the NYSE under the symbol MSI.
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