Valora: Fischer defends "political management of landscape" – Economy –

The Telecom Valora case against Fischer, the former lobbyist Peter Hochegger, the former FPÖ secretary general, Walter Meischberger, and two former employees of Telekom is integrated into the Grbader-Buwog process because the judge Marion Hohenecker is responsible for both charges. Overall, Wednesday is the 66th day of the trial.

Attorney Alexander Marchart asked Fischer many questions in the morning. He therefore inquired about his cash deposits on a numbered account in Liechtenstein for an amount exceeding two million euros. The last of the four cash installments was made at the end of June 2006. According to Fischer, this was money from his job in Hungary prior to his job at Telekom. He handed the money in cash to his banking adviser, who then deposited it in the account of Liechtenstein. For this, Fischer also established a trust (Whitestone) in the corresponding certificate that he signed with the Vaduz company. "I was not in Vaduz," he said Wednesday. It was a bad location.

Fischer again defended payments to various politicians and parties with telecom money. This certainly did not harm the company, as these payments would have opened "access" to departments and municipalities. Thanks to Meischberger's involvement, contacts with former Finance Minister Karl-Heinz Grbader (FPÖ / ÖVP) would have improved considerably. "The contacts have become very good," said Fischer. He had also come to private meetings between him and Grbader.

Fischer also received several decorations during his tenure on the board, as he explained during the prosecutor's interrogation. This is so common in Austria among corporate executives. With telecom payments for "care of the political landscape", this has nothing to do, he said. "You can not buy a medal, it does not work".

Fischer explained Wednesday during the interrogation of the prosecutor what were the secret plans of the then Minister of Finance, Karl-Heinz Grbader (FPÖ / ÖVP), with a view to a total privatization of Telekom Austria. Walter Meischberger had invited him to talk to Grbader.

The full privatization model, ie the sale of Telekom by the state, was presented. The necessary capital should have been raised through the intermediary of the investment bank Goldman Sachs, the financial investor Blackstone and the bank Meinl. The project was operated secretly because if it had become public, it would act as a "nuclear bomb," Fischer said. Meinl Bank would probably have taken a smaller share. "It was having an Austrian bank in the financing syndicate, this role was then badigned to Meinl Bank," said the defendant.

Meischberger had been working on a media strategy that it was just a "little bombshell". Grbader had probably discussed the issue in his opinion, with then Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel (ÖVP). Fischer said: "There must have been a vote in the government, which in my opinion, only Grbader was able to finish." Meischberger did not receive any additional money for the cooperation in the project, he received a monthly fee of 10,000 euros net of telecommunications money on the Hocheggers Valora company. During the 2006 election campaign, Telekom's complete privatization project was subsequently deactivated. In the parliamentary elections of October 2006, the SPÖ was elected. At the next government, Schüssel and Grbader were no longer represented.

Attorney Alexander Marchart also asked Fischer about Huawei. Fischer urged that an order be awarded to Huawei. Fischer explained that by saying that Huawei was the highest bidder, but Siemens was still preferred internally because Siemens was doing a lot of lobbying. He had implemented with his mail only what was clear before because Huawei was the best provider.