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owners who were basically characterized as “rising stars,” Johnson explained.
Later, Windmill also looked at the possibility of business dealings with a company called Danubia Global, which the AP reports as having purchased Custer Battles in 2005.
But that level of interest in any Custer Battles or Danubia affiliations never progressed beyond the initial stages, Combs said.
In addition to denying during the interview Friday any alliance with these businesses, or with any others named in the whistleblower lawsuit, Windmill officials also put forth the same in a July 28 press release.
“Windmill confirm(s) that Custer Battles shared a mutual interest in providing a low-cost alternative service supporting U.S. Government operations by utilizing ... NATO personnel,” the release reads. “Custer Battles and later, Danubia Global when it purchased Custer Battles, were among several companies Windmill considered, but did not acquire, when pursuing this business strategy.”
The tie, or lack thereof, of Windmill to Custer Battles or Danubia is a crucial point; this is the link that AP and other media outlets are citing from court documents that bring Combs and company into the whistleblower case.
According to the Windmill release, one possible angle from which the whistleblower suit naming Combs and company stems is this:
“In June of 2005, while still in preliminary discussions with Danubia Global, Windmill prematurely released from its Bucharest office a press notice focused on a project in Eastern Europe where it incorrectly mentioned that Windmill purchased a share in Danubia Global.”
The information on this press document was incorrect, according to Windmill’s July 28 release, and “an employee was terminated for disseminating
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