11:00 AM -- Former AlcaLu exec Mike Quigley linked to Costa Rica bribery affair

May 17, 2011

1 Min Read
Quigley Dragged Into Costa Rica Scandal

11:00 AM -- It seems the knives are out for former Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) executive Mike Quigley, who is now running NBN Co Ltd. , the company that's building out Australia's next-generation broadband network. (See Quigley Lands Major FTTP Role.)

Quigley had overall responsibility for Costa Rica as part of his 'Americas' brief during the time when local Alcatel employees in the Latin American country were bribing operator officials to sign GSM mobile network equipment contracts. AlcaLu recently struck a deal to settle various corruption cases, including the one in Costa Rica, details of which first came to light in 2004. (See SEC Lays Out AlcaLu Charges, Euronews: Dec. 28 and Costa del Kickback?)

And now it seems Quigley is being subjected to a public trial in the media regarding his connection to the unit at the heart of the scandal. See this Australian report for more.

Quigley was a familiar figure to Light Reading during his time at Alcatel, and many believe Alcatel-Lucent would have got off to a better start if he had been named as CEO.

And although this counts for nothing, he always struck this reporter as someone who would kick the rear end of anyone he found engaging in corrupt practices, especially within his own company, and not a person who would turn a blind eye or sanction such behavior. It's just possible that Quigley is currently being placed under pressure because he is at the helm of a politically contentious and expensive national project, and not because anyone actually believes he did anything wrong.

— Ray Le Maistre, International Managing Editor, Light Reading

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