KPN to sue TV station over RI graft charges

KPN to sue TV station over RI graft charges

AMSTERDAM (Dow Jones): Dutch telecommunications company Royal KPN NV (KPN) said Tuesday that it will take local television station KRO to court over a news report aired by the station that accused KPN of bribery in its business dealings in Indonesia.

KPN said it sees the "suggestions" made by the news report as "untrue and very misleading," pointing out that its "reputation and integrity" have been tainted by the accusations.

KRO on March 28 aired the news program Netwerk, which reported that KPN had bribed people, including a businessman close to highly placed Indonesian officials, to get stakes in Indonesian companies Bakrie Electronic Communications in 1994 and Telkomsel in 1996.

The telecoms company said the accusations have caused "great damage," and that it will start a procedure at the regional Amsterdam court, asking that KRO pays out damage costs to KPN.

A KPN spokesman said one of the reasons for taking KRO to court is that the network "didn't give us the chance to give our point of view in the report," adding that the stations "also didn't report our denial of the allegations two days later."

The spokesman declined to specify the approximate cost of the damages, but stressed that "allegations like these could have a very negative effect on our current and future dealings with companies and governments, and it can cost us lots of money."

KRO and KPN are scheduled to meet in court on May 12, KPN said.

Meanwhile, a KRO spokesman said Tuesday that KPN hasn't given the television station any official notice about the court hearing.

"No, we haven't heard anything official from them (KPN) yet," the spokesman said, when asked to comment about the planned court case.