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02. 04. 09. - 16:00

Julius Meinl V arrested

Meinl Bank AG owner Julius Meinl was arrested last night (Weds) in Vienna to prevent his possible flight from justice.

The Vienna public prosecutor’s office confirmed news of the arrest this morning.

A report in the news magazine Format said Meinl, chairman of the bank’s supervisory board, was suspected of defrauding investors, graft and breach of trust in connection to his role at Meinl European Land (MEL), which has since become Atrium Real Estate.

In response, Meinl Bank said this morning the arrest would have "no impact on its operations." The bank claimed it was "stable" and its capital was "secure."

The bank added it would cooperate fully with Austrian authorities since it wanted Meinl’s situation clarified as soon as possible. The bank claimed the public prosecutor had ordered Meinl’s arrest because it wanted "media attention."

The Vienna public prosecutor’s office conducted searches of 13 residences in Austria last February linked to turbulence in Meinl-related firms such as MEL.

Format reported searchers found considerable evidence, including secret dossiers on people who had been critical of the banker.

Two firms that Meinl was involved in, Airports International (AI) and Power International (PI),  recently announced they would be liquidated.

The two companies, formerly known as Meinl Airport International (MAI) and Meinl International Power (MIP), said they would make no new investments, sell their existing investments and return 500 million Euros to people who had invested in them.

Meinl International Power (MIP)’s new board of directors decided last December to save the firm’s cash rather than spend it on planned investment projects.

MIP issued a press release then in which it said an examination of the projects by outside experts had led to the conclusion that many projects authorised by the former board posed "huge financial risks."

Austrian Times

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