Salzburg speculation scandal

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The Salzburg speculation scandal , also known as the Salzburg financial scandal , became known in December 2012. Speculative financial investments in the Austrian state of Salzburg by a senior member of the finance department in recent years have caused damage of around 350 million euros. Including the costs of dealing with the scandal and any additional payments due to the tax office, the total damage to the country amounted to around 530 million euros.

The main defendant Monika Rathgeber was sentenced to three years' imprisonment, of which two years were suspended on probation , for serious fraud and forgery of documents without her own intent to enrich herself. The relatively mild verdict is explained by the accused's constant behavior and the fact that she did not enrich herself for her own benefit. The beneficiaries of the payments were local authorities.

The scandal led to the resignation of Deputy Governor David Brenner and subsequently to early elections for the state parliament , in which the governing parties SPÖ and ÖVP suffered massive losses. In an ancillary proceedings relating to the transfer of swap papers from the city of Salzburg to the state, the former mayor Heinz Schaden (SPÖ) and the former regional councilor Othmar Raus (SPÖ) were legally sentenced to several years, partly conditional, prison sentences for breach of trust.

chronology

According to press reports, Monika Rathgeber , the lawyer and head of a section in the finance department of the Office of the Salzburg State Government , confessed to her (political) head of department, Finance State Councilor David Brenner ( SPÖ ), on November 26th , “for years past all controls To have speculated on secret stock and bond portfolios with the tax money of the state. ”In February 2003, the head of department was entrusted with the power of attorney for commercial transactions with companies and institutions by the then Finanzlandesrat Wolfgang Eisl ( ÖVP ) - a civilian auditor . This power of attorney is supposed to be unconstitutional - according to an anonymous presentation of the facts to the public prosecutor's office for corruption - because Article 48, number 1 of the Salzburg state constitution states: "Without the consent of the state parliament, no loans from the state can be taken out and no guarantees can be made at the expense of the state." The then head of the state accounting and today's director of the state audit office , Manfred Müller , pointed out the risks of such transactions, he was informed by the financial councilor Eisl that this was not his area of ​​responsibility.

Eisl's successor as Finanzlandesrat, Othmar Raus (SPÖ), left the head of division in her position after being appointed in 2004. From 2006, Deutsche Bank calculated the value of the entire portfolio on a daily basis. In 2007, Raus issued new guidelines for financial management, lowered risk limits and set up a financial advisory board. In June 2008, the new financial councilor Brenner confirmed the power of attorney for commercial transactions with companies and institutions from February 2003, in September 2008 bank representatives warned the politician of losses in interest rate swap transactions. In July 2009, the Court of Auditors criticized the investigated derivative transactions from 2002 to 2007 and recommended that the risks be significantly reduced. In May 2012, conflicts arose for the first time between the department head and her direct superior, Eduard Paulus . She was accused of violating the recommendations of the Financial Advisory Board. In July, Ms. Rathgeber lost her power of attorney and was sent on a two-month vacation. Your successors as finance managers of the state also received extensive powers of attorney for speculative transactions from Provincial Councilor Brenner in July 2012, whereby no limit was specified for the permissible business volume and the possibility was expressly mentioned of "using loans granted for the purpose of carrying out commercial transactions" . In October, the successor as head of department, Harald Kutschera , a former employee of Deutsche Bank , is said to have discovered that his predecessor Monika Rathgeber had concluded another 253 derivative transactions in addition to 50 official ones that would not appear in the official documents. In the committee of inquiry the employee of the accused head of unit confirmed that the transactions were well known in the department, but had not been reported to Deutsche Bank. This also emerged from the questioning of Günter Lassak, who was present at the financial advisory board meetings of the state of Salzburg. Specifically, the transactions that were concluded for state funds were not reported to Deutsche Bank.

The head of department Monika Rathgeber was dismissed without notice at the end of November and charged with criminal charges for breach of trust , abuse of office and falsification of documents . In the wake of the scandal, David Brenner announced his resignation on December 14, 2012 with effect from January 23, 2013, after he had been criticized by the other state parliament parties for his hesitant information policy in the context of the scandal. All parties represented in the state parliament voted in favor of early elections for the Salzburg state parliament in spring 2013, but 54% of the Salzburg population were skeptical or even negative about a new election.

On December 17, 2012, it was also announced that the Provincial Personnel Council Sepp Eisl had filed a disciplinary complaint against Hofrat Eduard Paulus . Paul was a member of the ÖVP at the time. On December 3rd, the anonymous group “Salzburg Officials” also reported him to criminal charges on suspicion of abuse of office and infidelity .

On January 16, 2013, the outgoing Finance Councilor Brenner presented the “Expert Report on the Financial Situation of the State of Salzburg” to the Financial Monitoring Committee of the Salzburg State Parliament. This, as well as the corresponding graphic “Financial situation of the State of Salzburg” (also dated January 16), shows that contrary to the property deficit of up to 340 million euros expected by the state, there was an arithmetical surplus of 74 million euros at the end of 2012 , which resulted from the difference between the sum of the financial assets with 1,902 million euros and the sum of the “liabilities from financial management” with 1,828 million euros. However, the previously unknown liabilities amounting to 1.8 billion euros, which were used to finance securities and derivatives, are only offset by previously unknown assets amounting to around 1.35 billion euros in the form of securities. Derivatives totaling around 450 million euros are also listed as assets. According to the report of the auditor commissioned by the state government in July 2013, a negative result in the order of 350 million euros is to be expected, including around 300 million euros from the housing fund, which the state must repay to the fund.

In April 2013, the legal scholar Meinhard Lukas stated in an expert opinion that the liquidation of the long-unknown “shadow portfolio” in the last quarter of 2012 resulted in losses of around 205 million euros. The liquidation of the derivatives was done in an unprofessional manner and with a lack of care, said Lukas.

Work-up

On January 30, 2013, a committee of inquiry was constituted in the Salzburg state parliament, with Astrid Rössler ( Greens ) as chairwoman. Since no majority of votes could be obtained in the election, a drawing of lots followed. The " review of the financial management of the state of Salzburg since 2001 " was already set as the subject of investigation on 23 January by the Salzburg state parliament .

On February 1, 2013, a process began before the Salzburg Labor Court, in which Rathgeber sued against her dismissal without notice. At the beginning of April, the dismissal was confirmed in the first instance.

Public prosecutor's investigations were carried out by the Public Prosecutor's Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption in Vienna. Although Eduard Paulus and a third person were also named in the anonymous report, initially only Monika Rathgeber, head of the unit, was listed as the accused. As of January 2014, a total of eight people were investigated on suspicion of infidelity or aiding and abetting, including Monika Rathgeber, Eduard Paulus, ex-regional councilor Othmar Raus and the then incumbent mayor of the city of Salzburg, Heinz Schaden .

The main defendant Monika Rathgeber was sentenced to three years imprisonment, of which two years were suspended on probation , for serious fraud and forgery of documents without her own intent to enrich herself. The relatively mild verdict is explained by the accused's constant behavior and the fact that she did not enrich herself for her own benefit. The beneficiaries of the payments were local authorities.

Two financial criminal proceedings were also pending after the state of Salzburg filed a voluntary report. Because the accused (including Brenner, Paulus and Rathgeber) could not prove intent, the financial criminal proceedings were discontinued in January 2019 against a payment from the State of Salzburg in the amount of 130 million euros to the tax office.

On July 28, 2017, all seven defendants in the Salzburg swap process were not found legally guilty. As a result, the Mayor of Salzburg, Heinz Schaden , announced his resignation on July 31, 2017, effective September 20, 2017. In October 2019, the judgments against Heinz Schaden, Othmar Raus and Eduard Paulus were upheld by the Supreme Court and sentenced to several years, sometimes conditional, imprisonment.

classification

As far as this can currently be estimated, none of the people involved has personally enriched themselves. The actual amount of speculative losses totaled around € 350 million in the period from 2001 to 2012, with the majority of the losses likely to have occurred in 2008. Some of the losses are already included in previous budgets and only partially affect the budget. Thomas Payer, one of Ms. Rathgeber's lawyers, emphasized: "There is no one who does not know that you can lose with such business".

Ironically, the Federal Audit Office (Bundesrechnungshof) published its final report on Salzburg's state finances exactly on the day the Salzburg speculation broke up, in which there was no mention of irregularities: “ The State of Salzburg implemented almost all of the RH's recommendations. However, it continued to enter into complex - risky - derivative deals to generate additional income. However, the risk positions were greatly reduced by concluding additional hedging transactions. “This Court of Auditors report on the State of Salzburg is not available on its homepage.

Criticism was also expressed of the Austrian Federal Finance Agency (ÖBFA), which provided the State of Salzburg with loans amounting to 1.7 billion euros, although the Salzburg state deficit is only around 700 million euros, and then did not control the use of the funds should. The head of the ÖBFA, Klaus Kumpfmüller , stated that his agency had no authority to act as a control or supervisory body for the federal states. In addition, the institutions authorized to do so, the Federal and State Audit Office, the State Debt Committee and the Financial Advisory Board of the State of Salzburg had no knowledge of the speculative transactions. Finance Minister Maria Fekter explained in the Salzburger Nachrichten : “ But to a large extent we do not know what Salzburg has done with this money. "

Representatives of the banks involved spoke anonymously to the media and referred to the extensive statutory reporting obligations of the banks: In 2008 and 2009, after losses of up to 90 million euros in derivatives transactions, intensive discussions had been held with those responsible in the country: “ There was a casino -Mentality. The stakes were constantly being doubled, ”an“ insider ”reported to the Salzburger Nachrichten. “ The positions exploded from 2008 onwards. It was really bad in 2011 ”. That was also evident in the country's budget estimate, said the banker. “ You should have noticed that ”.

The German business newspaper Handelsblatt described Salzburg's financial transactions as a " snowball system ".

literature

  • Monika Rathgeber: Broken in the system. The Salzburg financial scandal: a woman between politics and responsibility. Edition Innsalz et al., Ranshofen et al. 2013, ISBN 978-3-902616-99-9 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The almost forgotten Salzburg financial scandal Die Presse , April 21, 2018, accessed on October 2, 2019
  2. ↑ a b Financial scandal: three years imprisonment for Monika Rathgeber. In: Salzburger Nachrichten. February 5, 2016, accessed April 25, 2016 .
  3. ^ A b Stephanie Ruep: Salzburg financial scandal: three years imprisonment for Rathgeber. In: The Standard. February 4, 2016. Retrieved April 25, 2016 .
  4. ↑ Salzburg Swap Process: One year imprisonment for Schaden Kurier , October 2, 2019, accessed on October 2, 2019
  5. ^ Salzburger Nachrichten , February 1, 2013: Financial scandal: Rathgeber charges Paul in court
  6. ↑ Kurier , December 16, 2012, page 4: Anatomy of an unbelievable gambling scandal
  7. ↑ profil , December 17, 2012, page 24: Casino Salzburg: Chronicle of a financial debacle
  8. ↑ Salzburger Nachrichten, December 20, 2012 “Officials” questions Haslauer's role
  9. ↑ Salzburger Nachrichten, December 18, 2012: Power of attorney for speculation unconstitutional?
  10. ^ Salzburger Nachrichten, December 18, 2012: Financial scandal: warnings from the accountants ignored
  11. ^ Die Presse , December 18, 2012: Salzburg: Brenner's explosive power of attorney from July
  12. ↑ Der Standard , December 15, 2012: Salzburg's CFO Brenner resigns in January
  13. ^ Die Presse, December 14, 2012: Salzburg: Landesrat Brenner resigns
  14. ↑ Kurier, December 15, 2012, page 4: Schieder calls for risk report / SP-Salzburg approves new election
  15. ↑ Salzburger Nachrichten, December 17th, 2012: Survey: ÖVP is ahead after the financial scandal
  16. ^ ORF Salzburg, December 17, 2012: Disciplinary proceedings against the Finanzhofrat
  17. ^ ORF Salzburg, January 24, 2013: ÖVP criticized: Paul excluded
  18. ↑ Salzburger Nachrichten, December 18, 2012: Investigation against Paulus  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / search.salzburg.com  
  19. ^ State of Salzburg, January 16, 2013: Graphic 'Financial situation of the State of Salzburg' (as of the end of 2012)
  20. ↑ State of Salzburg, January 16, 2013: Expert report on the financial situation shows excess assets
  21. ↑ Der Standard: Salzburg lost 350 million euros with speculation, July 25, 2013
  22. ↑ Der Standard, April 3, 2013 Shadow portfolio but dissolved with minus - Paulus: "I would have to be a complete idiot if I had approved something like that"
  23. ^ Die Presse, April 3, 2013 Salzburg: Minus through dissolution of the shadow portfolio
  24. ^ State of Salzburg, January 30, 2013: Constituent meeting of the Finance Committee , accessed on January 31, 2013
  25. ^ Die Presse, February 1, 2013: Trial in Salzburg: Rathgeber incriminates Paul
  26. ^ Labor court confirmed dismissal of Rathgeber. In: Salzburger Nachrichten. April 5, 2013, accessed April 5, 2013 .
  27. ↑ Format , December 17, 2012: Salzburg financial scandal - two advertisements, 253 derivatives and zero information
  28. ↑ Now eight accused in the Salzburg financial scandal ( memento from February 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Wirtschaftsblatt , January 21, 2014
  29. ↑ Salzburg financial scandal: investigations into criminal proceedings stopped Die Presse , January 28, 2019, accessed on October 2, 2019
  30. ↑ derStandard.at: Guilty verdicts in the Salzburg swap process: all defendants convicted . Article dated July 28, 2017, accessed July 28, 2017.
  31. ↑ derStandard.at: Salzburg's mayor Heinz Schaden resigns in September . Article dated July 31, 2017, accessed July 31, 2017.
  32. ↑ Supreme Court: Prison for Damage and Raus ORF , October 2, 2019, accessed on October 2, 2019
  33. ↑ Wirtschaftsblatt, July 25, 2013 http://wirtschaftsblatt.at/home/nachrichten/oesterreich/salzburg/1434456/350-Millionen-Euro-Verlust-in-Salzburg ( Memento of July 28, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  34. ↑ profile, December 15, 2012, page 25: “It's like a partisan war” .
  35. ↑ Audit Office of the Republic of Austria, December 6, 2012: Financial instruments of the regional authorities in the provinces of Burgenland and Salzburg; Follow-up check ( memento of the original from November 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Accessed December 18, 2012 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.rechnungshof.gv.at
  36. ↑ ORF, December 17, 2012: assessment prohibited
  37. ↑ Der Standard, December 17, 2012: "The Federal Financing Agency is not a controlling body"
  38. ↑ Salzburger Nachrichten , December 17th, 2012: Salzburg raised 1.8 billion euros from ÖBFA
  39. ↑ Salzburger Nachrichten, December 10, 2012: Salzburg financial scandal: Now the banks are unpacking
  40. ↑ Handelsblatt , December 11, 2012: Financial scandal in Salzburg: the pyramid scheme no longer worked