Investor Ronny Pecik dismisses Thomas Schmid’s recent allegations of bribery against him. In a letter of 47 pages he turned to the Public Prosecution Service for Economic Affairs and Corruption (WKStA). Schmid, the former secretary general of the Treasury Department, lied and implicated Pecik out of “pure self-interest” to gain clemency status, it says. Pecik also asked for the preliminary investigation to be stopped.
According to corresponding statements by Schmid, the WKStA has launched an investigation against the entrepreneur.
Bribed with cars and suits?
Specifically, Schmid makes the following allegations: Pecik bribed him with borrowed cars and tailored suits. The investor, who previously sat on the supervisory board of Telekom Austria and represented the interests of majority shareholder America Movil there, had promised benefits, such as better access to the finance minister. That was a “false statement,” Pecik now claims. It wasn’t about business, it was about friendship, the “Standard” wrote.
“I just like buying cars”
Pecik justifies the car rental by saying that buying vehicles is “just plain fun” for him, which is why his private fleet consists of 20 to 30 vehicles. Since Pecik cannot regularly drive all the cars himself, he is happy when friends borrow a car. That’s why he “never” charged a fee for renting vehicles.
Pecik’s lawyer goes on the offensive
Pecik also always forwarded the traffic fines received from Schmid to him against payment. If Pecik had actually wanted to bribe Schmid, he would probably have paid these fines, says the entrepreneur’s lawyer according to the “Standard”. Pecik also did not pay for tailor-made suits for Schmid, but only brokered the tailor. Pecik was not aware that Schmid never paid the bill until the preliminary investigation. The presumption of innocence applies to all named persons.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
