Swiss asset managers linked to Austrian corruption scandals
Austria is still investigating massive corruption scandals involving far-right politicians, including Heinz-Christian Strache (Left) and the late Jörg Haider (Right), seen here in 2008.
Keystone
Swiss asset managers are involved in some of Austria’s biggest corruption scandals, according to the SonntagsZeitung newspaper.
This content was published on
2 minutes
swissinfo/jc
العربية
ar
مديرو أصول سويسريون متورّطون في فضائح فساد نمساوية
The paper writes that in ongoing cases involving far-right politicians Jörg Haider, Karl-Heinz Grasser and Heinz-Christian Strache, the trail leads back to Zurich, Zug and Nidwalden in Switzerland. It sources this information to a whistleblower.
A task force in Austria is still investigating corruption allegations surrounding the purchase of expensive Eurofighter jets by the coalition government of Wolfgang Schüssel and Jorg Heider almost two decades ago. But with the investigation dragging, a whistleblower has now brought new information to two Austrian newspapers and the public prosecutor’s office, writes SonntagsZeitung.
This whistleblower links payment of a 1.5 million Euro ($1.6 million) cheque cited in the inquiry not only to the party of Haider, who died in 2008, but also to a Swiss trustee and his company in the central canton of Nidwalden.
A Swiss trustee is also accused of aiding and abetting bribery in the case of former Finance Minister Karl-Heinz Grasser, who is said to have collected bribes for the privatization of 60,000 federal apartments.
And a Swiss asset management company also appears in the investigations into the Heinz-Christian Strache “Ibiza affair”, says the paper. Former Austrian Vice-Chancellor and far-right party head Strache resigned in May after German media published a video of him meeting in Ibiza with a woman purporting to be a Russian oligarch’s niece and apparently offering lucrative public contracts in exchange for political and financial support.
Popular Stories
More
Climate adaptation
Why Switzerland is among the ten fastest-warming countries in the world
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
Rhine could warm by up to 4°C by 2100, scientists warn
This content was published on
The water temperature of the Rhine River could rise by up to 4.2° degrees Celsius by the end of the century due to the warming planet, scientists warn.
This content was published on
The Federal Council wants to explore the possibilities of joining the European Union’s €800-billion rearmament programme without compromising Swiss neutrality.
Defence Minister Pfister stresses importance of Swiss mission in Balkans
This content was published on
During a visit to the Balkans region last week, Swiss Defence Minister Martin Pfister met Swisscoy peacekeeping troops in Kosovo.
Premiere for Swiss Air Force on French National Day
This content was published on
On July 14, the Swiss Air Force will take part in the traditional air parade in Paris to mark the French bank holidays with an F/A-18 fighter jet. This is a first for Switzerland.
Swiss launch competition for memorial to Nazi victims
This content was published on
The victims of Nazi Germany are to be commemorated on the Casinoterrasse in Bern. A competition will be held to determine what the site will look like.
This content was published on
The cantonal police of Graubünden in eastern Switzerland have arrested and convicted five cocaine dealers in Chur within a week.
This content was published on
The Swiss business umbrella organisation Economiesuisse and the employers' association broadly support the package of agreements negotiated with the European Union.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
The key criminal probes involving Swiss banks
This content was published on
Following fines linked to Malaysia’s 1MDB scandal, other outstanding criminal probes still hang over the heads of Switzerland’s banks.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.