Ex-finance minister in hot water after report

Dubai: After the arrest and 100-million-euro (Dh486.22 billion) record bail of Austria's top banker Julius Meinl V, as reported by Gulf News, Austria's former finance minister Karl-Heinz Grasser has gotten into trouble regarding his business relationship with Meinl's investment companies.

Grasser, Austrian finance minister between 2003 and 2007 and responsible for the double taxation agreement between Austria and the UAE, is facing an anonymous report to the public prosecution in account of alleged financial fraud, abuse of his position, intervention, and tax dodging, according to Austrian weekly News.

Grasser held several positions in Meinl's investment companies, which are now either defunct or liquidated, or have been taken over by former investors after growing suspicious of Meinl's business model and shares of the companies hit rock bottom.

Meinl was arrested three weeks ago on suspicion of embezzlement, fraud, insider trading, and falsifying balance sheets and is facing a jail term of five to ten years if found guilty. He paid a record 100 million euros and is currently released on bail, but not allowed to leave the country. One of his luxury properties has already been seized by authorities.

Grasser, whose political career started with the controversial Liberal Party lead by Jörg Haider, and who later worked his way up the political ladder, is accused in the report of intervention at Austria's National Bank and the stock exchange supervisory authority in favour of his personal friend Meinl, a measure that allegedly helped avoiding proper investigations into Meinl's balance sheets.

Grasser meanwhile terminated all activities for Meinl's companies, but said the accusations against him are "ridiculous" and "politically motivated".

He said he is going to lodge a defamation complaint as soon as he knows who filed the report.

AP

Could be doing time

Julius Meinl, arrested on suspicion of embezzlement, fraud and insider trading, may face ten years in jail if convicted.