Money from Croatia, according to a former 44-year-old employee of Hypo, was arriving in Klagenfurt via a special aircraft (Learjets) and was subsequently transferred to Liechtenstein.
A former, deliberately unnamed employee of the Financial Department of Hypo Alpe Adria Bank in Klagenfurt made a series of serious accusations against the former CEOs of this bank, Wolfgang Kulterer and Günter Striedinger, in an interview late Friday evening for the evening news of Austrian television ORF „ZiB 2“. He spoke about „discreet transactions“ involving money suitcases, interventions with former Austrian Finance Minister Karl-Heinz Grasser, and threats he faced when he announced he would leave the bank. He also mentioned Ivo Sanader, claiming that Kulterer „maintained contact with the former Croatian Prime Minister from the conservative HDZ party.“ He added that Kulterer’s deputy Striedinger was „taking care of“ General Vladimir Zagorec. Money from Croatia, according to the former 44-year-old employee of Hypo, was arriving in Klagenfurt via a special aircraft (Learjets) and was subsequently transferred to Liechtenstein.
„Departures from Klagenfurt took place without significant controls, so one could take whatever they wanted. There was always a CEO and a suitcase with money present,“ said the alleged witness of these transports to ORF. Striedinger immediately denied his involvement in the money transports after the interview was broadcast, Austrian TV reported on its internet portal. The witness was also familiar with the details of the banking operations regarding the Freyenthurn castle near Klagenfurt, which Hypo allegedly inherited after the collapse of a company. According to him, the castle was used as a discreet Hypo branch. „There was a consulting counter in the castle and a vault from which money was disbursed,“ he said, adding that the clients were mostly from Italy and Croatia. He emphasized that the Financial Market Authority (FMA) had little opportunity to verify these transactions in Croatia. When problems occasionally arose, Kulterer, according to the witness, activated his networks in Vienna. „Once I was personally present when Kulterer called Grasser and intervened regarding some shares to strengthen his own capital,“ he said, asserting that the matter was then resolved „in terms of Hypo.“ "ORF emphasized that all mentioned are considered innocent until their possible guilt is proven."
