Gun lobbyist Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly will face charges of money laundering before the Vienna Regional Court again next Tuesday. He is said to have shifted money that came from a crime committed by a former division manager of the Eurofighter manufacturer EADS. The events are already 17 years ago, in 2013 he was acquitted of the same charge.
At the time, Mensdorff-Pouilly was suspected of handing out money from British arms group BAE Systems to influence procurement processes in Central and Eastern Europe. It was about 12.64 million euros. The first court in Vienna eventually concluded that Mensdorff-Pouilly had taken over funds, “but we don’t know in what capacity”. The lobbyist was therefore acquitted of money laundering. “It stinks, but it doesn’t stink enough,” the judge said at the time.
Now it’s about money laundering again, from next Tuesday Mensdorff-Pouilly will face the Vienna court. According to the Public Prosecution Service for Economic Affairs and Corruption (WKStA), the charge was based on embezzlement by a manager of EADS, who, as of March 2005, allegedly transferred about 93 million euros from the company to Vector Aerospace LLP through false contracts.
Unclear where the money went
Of this, two million euros under the payment target “reward” ended up in the account of a company established in Vienna, over which Mensdorff-Pouilly would have influence. In April 2006, 300,000 euros went to a company in Budapest as ‘loan repayment’. The defendant would have personally received the remaining 1.7 million euros. The WKStA has so far not been able to clarify where the money has ended up. According to the indictment, he would have passed this on to third parties, although the intention is still unclear.
Hardly any proof
The gun lobbyist denies the allegations. Also, there may not be much evidence. The regional court had initially dismissed the charges and justified it, among other things, with the statute of limitations of the incident. The superior Higher Regional Court (OLG) Vienna saw it differently. For the time being, two days of interrogations have been scheduled, with some witnesses having already apologized due to illness or vacation. The question is therefore whether there will be a ruling immediately.
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.
