August 13, 2013 – High-level representatives of the Austrian National Bank (OeNB) and its subsidiaries Österreichische Sicherheitsdruck GmbH and Austrian Mint are accused of having concluded international contracts by bribery. This concerns activities with Azerbaijan and Syria between June 2005 and June 2011.
Several top managers, among them the former Austrian Mint executives Kurt Meyer and Johannes Miller, are charged with accusations as embezzlement, bribery and money laundering. The OeNB Vice Governor Wolfgang Duchatczek resigned after having been suspended from office; he is accused of having known about these illegal activities.
It appears that various civil trials are imminent. The OeNB may face payments amounting of about 3.8 million euros (ca. US$5 millions), former Austrian Mint director Kurt Meyer is requested to pay over 110,000 euros (ca. US$146,000).
It seems that for the time being only Austrian media have reported on these events.
Details of the bill of indictment were published by the magazine Format.
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