The conviction of lobbyist Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly for money laundering at the Eurofighter complex has been quashed. The Vienna Supreme Court quashed the conviction of the regional court from 2022 and acquitted the defendant. The judgment is final.
Mensdorff-Pouilly was given a six-month suspended sentence with a three-year probation period and ordered to pay 50,000 euros, which he allegedly received for the cash flows.
Process to move EADS resources
The prosecutor had accused Mensdorff-Pouilly of moving the assets of a former division manager of the Eurofighter manufacturer EADS, most of which should therefore have been allocated as “a slush fund for the pursuit of purposes outside the legitimate business interests of EADS”.
While the trial judge essentially agreed with the plaintiffs’ allegations, the Higher Regional Court saw the case differently.
Predicate offense or no predicate offense?
According to the relevant legal situation at the time, the crime of money laundering would have been fulfilled if the hidden assets (the “laundered money”) were the result of a criminal act. In order to “launder money” in the criminal sense, a “predicate offence” is required from which this “laundered” money originates, the court now says.
In the specific case, however, the findings of the first court did not show that the “predecessor” received any money from the offence of which he was accused (disloyalty to the detriment of the company). Rather, the accusation was that he had transferred funds from the company he worked for to third parties through fictitious contracts.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
