It was the second case against him in which he was accused of money laundering. In 2013, however, it sat an acquittal. The judgment was not final for the time being.
“The court is the court, the decision is the decision,” said Mensdorff-Pouilly after the verdict was announced. “I don’t understand because I haven’t done anything.” Mensdorff-Pouilly told journalists that he had not checked the origin of the money: “I didn’t think about it at all at the time.”
According to the indictment, Mensdorff-Pouilly is said to have moved the assets of a former division manager of the Eurofighter manufacturer EADS. From March 2005, he is said to have transferred around EUR 93 million from EADS Deutschland GmbH (EADS-D) to Vector Aerospace LLP by means of bogus contracts. The largest part of it – namely 84 million euros – is said to have been endowed as “a slush fund for pursuing purposes outside the legitimate business interests of EADS-D”. Two million euros are said to have ended up in the account of a company established in Vienna under the payment purpose “compensation”, which is attributable to Mensdorff-Pouilly’s sphere of influence and which he passed on.
Judge Michael Tolstiuk followed suit. It is a “strong indication if funds are collected and passed on here and not checked where they are going”. There is no need for knowledge, the “conditional intent” is enough here. It was to be assumed that the funds flow from a criminal act. Noting that two million were passed on, the judge said, “I assume 50,000 went to you for your services.” According to the judge, the minimum sentence of six months and a conditional probationary period of three years is sufficient “to deter you from such acts.” Neither the prosecutor nor the accused made any statement.
Source: Nachrichten
