Αρχηγός σε εγκληματική οργάνωση και η Angela Merkel (Chancellor)..

...διότι "ζούνε" από μίζες εμπόρων όπλων ΕΝΑΣ ΚΟΣΜΟΣ ΜΕ ΠΟΛΥ ΒΡΩΜΙΑ 

Description : 

In 1991, arms lobbyist Karlheinz Schreiber made an illegal "donation" (Parteispende) in the amount of 1,000,000 DM to German government officials of the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party on behalf of the German arms manufacturer Thyssen in order to obtain official approval

for Thyssen's sale of 36 type "Fuchs" tanks to Saudi Arabia. According to a German parliamentary investigation, Schreiber paid the bribe to CDU party treasurer Dr. Walther Kiep, who deposited the money in a secret German trust account with the assistance of CDU financial advisor Horst Weyrauch. Weyrauch received the money in cash from Schreiber in Switzerland and drove the money to Frankfurt, where he deposited it in a trust account with the private bank Hauck & Aufha?user held in the name of Weyrauch & Kapp GmbH. From the trust account Kiep distributed a third of the money each to himself, Weyrauch and CDU General Secretary Dr. Luethje. The men used the funds for their own personal benefit and the money was not recorded in CDU party financial statements. The "money trail" is as follows: Saudi Arabia paid Thyssen a total of 446 million DM for the tanks even though the deal was only worth 226 million DM (including profits) according to Thyssen calculations. Thyssen recorded the additional 220 million DM or 47% of the total sale as "commissions" (Provisionen), which normally account for ~10% of such transactions. The aforementioned bribes were paid using this "commission" money. From the 220m DM in "commissions" Thyssen received from Saudi Arabia, Thyssen paid 24.4 million DM into a Swiss account with the Swiss Bank Corporation held by Schreiber's Panama registered firm "ATG". The German parliamentary report describes a second bribery payment in connection with the Thyssen-Saudi deal: a payment of 3.8 million DM by Thyssen to Dr. Horst Pfahls, who served as state secretary for defense in the Kohl government from 1989-1992. Chancellor Kohl initiated the Saudi tank sale under strictest secrecy in September 1991 and put Pfahls in charge of executing the deal on behalf of the German government and to "deal with" opposition to the deal from the German Foreign Office. Thyssen had concerns it could not produce 36 new tanks in time to meet the delivery deadline to Saudi Arabia. Pfahls solved the problem for Thyssen by arranging a deal with the German Army under which the Army would "lend" Thyssen the 36 tanks for Saudi Arabia. Thyssen would then repay the Army with 36 new tanks at a later date. In return for this favor, Thyssen, again acting through Schreiber, paid Pfahls 3.8m DM. Schreiber deposited the money in a secret Swiss account, codenamed "Holgar", which Pfahls controlled.

Type of Illicit activity involving Public Official : 

Bribery

 

Pfahls/ Kiep/ Luethje/ Weyrauch

Case Control Number: 

18

Description : 

In 1991, arms lobbyist Karlheinz Schreiber made an illegal "donation" (Parteispende) in the amount of 1,000,000 DM to German government officials of the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party on behalf of the German arms manufacturer Thyssen in order to obtain official approval for Thyssen's sale of 36 type "Fuchs" tanks to Saudi Arabia. According to a German parliamentary investigation, Schreiber paid the bribe to CDU party treasurer Dr. Walther Kiep, who deposited the money in a secret German trust account with the assistance of CDU financial advisor Horst Weyrauch. Weyrauch received the money in cash from Schreiber in Switzerland and drove the money to Frankfurt, where he deposited it in a trust account with the private bank Hauck & Aufha?user held in the name of Weyrauch & Kapp GmbH. From the trust account Kiep distributed a third of the money each to himself, Weyrauch and CDU General Secretary Dr. Luethje. The men used the funds for their own personal benefit and the money was not recorded in CDU party financial statements. The "money trail" is as follows: Saudi Arabia paid Thyssen a total of 446 million DM for the tanks even though the deal was only worth 226 million DM (including profits) according to Thyssen calculations. Thyssen recorded the additional 220 million DM or 47% of the total sale as "commissions" (Provisionen), which normally account for ~10% of such transactions. The aforementioned bribes were paid using this "commission" money. From the 220m DM in "commissions" Thyssen received from Saudi Arabia, Thyssen paid 24.4 million DM into a Swiss account with the Swiss Bank Corporation held by Schreiber's Panama registered firm "ATG". The German parliamentary report describes a second bribery payment in connection with the Thyssen-Saudi deal: a payment of 3.8 million DM by Thyssen to Dr. Horst Pfahls, who served as state secretary for defense in the Kohl government from 1989-1992. Chancellor Kohl initiated the Saudi tank sale under strictest secrecy in September 1991 and put Pfahls in charge of executing the deal on behalf of the German government and to "deal with" opposition to the deal from the German Foreign Office. Thyssen had concerns it could not produce 36 new tanks in time to meet the delivery deadline to Saudi Arabia. Pfahls solved the problem for Thyssen by arranging a deal with the German Army under which the Army would "lend" Thyssen the 36 tanks for Saudi Arabia. Thyssen would then repay the Army with 36 new tanks at a later date. In return for this favor, Thyssen, again acting through Schreiber, paid Pfahls 3.8m DM. Schreiber deposited the money in a secret Swiss account, codenamed "Holgar", which Pfahls controlled.

Type of Illicit activity involving Public Official : 

Bribery

Impediments to investigation: 

Bribe payments from Thyssen were transferred to the public official's via Swiss accounts held by agent Karlheiz Schreiber's Panama firm ATG. Schreiber withdrew cash from the Swiss accounts and gave it the the public officials, who then deposited in their private bank account in Germany.

Most recent legal action against Public Official?: 

Conviction (Pfahls sentenced to 2 years and three months in prison in August 2005, but released after serving half of the sentence)

Other legal action/ other prosecutions: 

Conviction (Thyssen executive Jurgen Maßmann sentenced to two years and six months).

Region: 

Hi-Income

Country of Public Official: 

Germany

Sources: 

German Parliamentary report "Bewertung durch den Untersuchungsausschuss "Parteispenden" der 14. Wahlperiode." accessed at www2.stroebele-online.de/upload/parteispenden_bericht.pdf Wild, Christiane. "Der Strippenzieher genießt und schweigt, Sueddeutsche Zeitung." accessed at http://www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/139/500405/text/ Nelles, Roland. "Schauble verteidigt Kohl im Untersuchungsausschuss." Die Welt, Apr. 14, 2000, accessed at http://www.welt.de/print-welt/article544273/Schaeuble_verteidigt_Kohl_im_Untersuchungsausschuss.html Karnitschnig, Matthew. "The Kohl Case: Oh, What a Tangled Web." Businessweek, Feb. 14, 2000, accessed at http://www.businessweek.com/2000/00_07/b3668164.htm Komisar, Lucy. "Offshore Banks Laundered Funds in European Campaign Finance Scandal." The Albion Monitor, accessed at http://www.albionmonitor.com/0005a/copyright/laundereuro.html "Schmiergeldaffare: Ex-Thyssen-Manager verurteilt." Die Welt, Dec. 19, 2005, accessed at http://www.welt.de/wirtschaft/article185495 Penfold, Chuck. "Fugitive Pfahls Comes Home -- to Prison." Deutsch Welle Jan. 20, 2005, accessed at http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,1464092,00.html Helm, Toby. "Kohl escapes prosecution." Telegraph, Feb. 9, 2001, accessed at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/1321897/Kohl-escapes-prosecution.html

Position of Public Official during scheme: 

Pfahls-Deputy Defense Minister; CDU financial advisor Horst Weyrauch; CDU party treasurer Walther Kiep; CDU General Secretary Luethje

Is there a pending case or appeals?: 

Yes (German criminal prosecution of Schreiber is ongoing at this time)

UNCAC Articles(s) Implicated: 

Art. 15

Art. 23

Money laundering Implicated?: 

Yes

Year scheme began: 

1991

 

http://www2.stroebele-online.de/upload/parteispenden_bericht.pdf