When the housing company of the Republic of Austria BUWOG was privatized in 2004, CA-Immo AG offered 960 million euros for it. A short time later, their competitor, a consortium of Immofinanz AG and Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich, accidentally offered exactly one million euros more, exactly 961 million euros.
A short time later, the finance minister responsible for this process carried 500,000 euros in a plastic bag to his friend’s bank. A short time later, this sum accidentally ended up in an anonymous account in Liechtenstein.
Nobody would have noticed these coincidences (here in Austria we still believe in coincidences) if at some point later an auditor from Immofinanz AG had not accidentally discovered a payment that he could not assign.
Accidentally a couple of prosecutors had the time, energy, nerve and steadfastness to pursue this one payment. Accidentally they made a trip halfway around the world, from Austria to Cyprus, Delaware and Switzerland, until they accidentally landed in Liechtenstein.
Today, 16 years later, the then finance minister was sentenced to 8 years in prison for breach of trust, accepting gifts and forging evidence.
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Some people believe in coincidences. Some people believe in conspiracies. I believe in the rule of law.
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Vienna Calling 