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Berlin airport boss: 'More corruption possible'

DPA/The Local
DPA/The Local - [email protected]
Berlin airport boss: 'More corruption possible'
Mehdorn (l) and Berlin's mayor Klaus Wowereit speak to reporters on Monday. Photo: DPA

The boss of Berlin’s long-delayed new airport said on Monday he couldn’t rule out further cases of corruption in the massively over budget project which is engulfed in a bribery scandal.

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Chief executive of Berlin Brandenburg Airport Hartmut Mehdorn said further irregularities could be discovered in the awarding of past contracts. “If there is something there, we’ll find it,” Mehdorn said after a meeting of the airport’s supervisory committee.

The meeting was called following the suspension of the airport’s technical director Jochen Großmann amid allegations he demanded €500,000 from a prospective contractor. 

A working group of lawyers and anti-corruption experts will on Tuesday examine all contracts awarded by Großmann and report at the next meeting of the supervisory body on June 30th.

According to a report on Monday, Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt has called for an outside body to take control of the airport’s construction costs.

He described the latest corruption allegations as “unacceptable” and wants an independent auditing firm to examine the airport’s costs, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported.

Berlin Brandenburg was supposed to open in 2012 but the latest opening estimate is for 2016. It has been held up by fire safety problems and planning mistakes.

The project was initially expected to cost around €2 billion, but it could now reach €7 billion.

SEE ALSO: Bribery scandal hits Berlin airport

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