Ex-BAE Lobbyist Cleared of Money Laundering Charges in Austria

A former BAE Systems Plc (BA/) lobbyist was cleared by a Vienna court on money laundering charges tied to allegations he bribed officials in eastern and central Europe for weapons contracts.

Prosecutors didn’t present enough facts to convict Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly of money laundering, criminal-court spokeswoman Christina Salzborn said today by telephone.

Mensdorff-Pouilly was found guilty on a lesser charge of evidence tampering, which carries a conditional two-month sentence that may be voided on appeal, Salzborn said.

U.K. prosecutors dropped similar charges against Mensdorff- Pouilly in 2010 in a joint U.K. and U.S. settlement ending a six-year-old bribery and fraud investigation against the company.

Harald Schuster, a lawyer for Mensdorff-Pouilly, wasn’t immediately available at his office for a call for comment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Tirone in Vienna at jtirone@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Hertling at jhertling@bloomberg.net