Austrian judiciary now also pilloried for alleged intervention in Lyoness criminal proceedings!

Members of the Congress (verbatim Members of the National Council- dt.Nationalratsabgeordnete), foreign ministries and the media are now mobilizing!

The investigation by the economic and corruption prosecutor’s office (dt.- WKStA) against Lyoness was discontinued under dubious circumstances (AZ. 14 St 28/15h and 14 St 2/16m).

The Vienna Higher Regional Court (dt.-OLG) dismissed most of the WKStA proceedings in April 2016. According to attorney Fromhold, the responsible investigator of the WKStA, Senior Public Prosecutor Michael Schön, had rather conspicuously made a mess in the Lyoness case at the time. “I asked him why he had not interviewed any injured parties. He laughed and said: “I have enough evidence,” Fromhold said in an interview with the APA (Austria Press Agency). The prosecutor had only questioned exculpatory witnesses from the side of the accused. 

The suspicion that the general counsel of Lyoness, attorney Dr. Hubert Reif, and the press spokesman at the time, Bernhard Krumpel, together with Silvia Kelemen, intervened accordingly both with the WKStA and with the media, is obvious and results from the course of events in the case at the time.

Mag. Bernhard Krumpel, former head of communications at Novomatic AG, has also been summoned to appear before the current investigation of the committee of inquiry in the “IBIZA” case. Krumpel is named in numerous proceedings and has often participated in the committee of inquiry.

However, only few people know that Mr. Krumpel was also active in the field of reputation and crisis management as Head of Communications and Strategy & Lobbying at Lyoness AG from 2015 to 2017 and thereafter. Thus, together with the Head of Communications Austria, Ms. Kelemen-Weihs, he had numerous internal appointments with media institutions such as APA, Trend, Kurier and other daily newspapers to ensure benevolent coverage. In return, the media were offered paid advertisements by Lyoness for positive media coverage.

And it was precisely at this time that crucial proceedings against Lyoness and its acting persons were unexpectedly discontinued out of the blue. Even an expert economic opinion commissioned by the WKStA was ignored. A planned house search of the head office of Lyoness/myWorld was cancelled without further ado by the public prosecutor’s office in Graz… Questions over questions and omissions over omissions!

Due to the disciplinary complaints, brought by us to the Vienna Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office (AZ: Jv 3637/16m-17) against the then leading chief attorney Michael Schön at the WKStA, our CEO Mr. Ecker was “warned” by telephone by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office to not continue to pursue the “Causa Lyoness”. “This public criticism against the discontinuation of the criminal proceedings could also become a boomerang for you.” That was an outright threat on the part of the judiciary!

In the Committee of Inquiry, it became known that Mr. Krumpel, who was also a member of the Strasser cabinet, accordingly maintained honorable ÖVP contacts, inter alia with the former section head of the Ministry of Justice Pilnacek, former Minister of the Interior and President of the National Council Mag. Sobotka (Krumpel was also his press spokesman in Lower Austria) as well as with other ÖVP ministries (including the Ministry of the Interior).

Due to the current Committee of Inquiry, that would also fit into the picture regarding the Lyoness proceedings of that time, as well as explain to me who possibly used to be responsible in the background for the benevolent behavior of the Judiciary and Ministry of the Interior. In this case, the appropriate party book might exactly be the right choice to establish a lobbying and shadow business far away from society on behalf of some clients and friends. Krumpel’s job was to ensure peace around the controversial company and resolve any judicial problems.

Our official complaint at the time, together with the addenda, which best explains the causa, can be accessed by clicking on the link below. Note, among other things, the intimate mail correspondence between attorney Dr. Reif and the chief attorney Michael Schön. ( https://www.bekm.eu/veroeffentlichung-der-dienstaufsichtsbeschwerde-az-jv-363716m-17-gegen-die-wksta-wien/- bekm.eu) 

At the time, the press has also dealt with the “strange discontinuation of criminal proceedings” with several articles, inter alia, https://www.kleinezeitung.at/wirtschaft/5070617/Rabattfirma-Lyoness_Kritiker-gehen-gegen-Einstellung-des – kleinezeitung.at

Lyoness or myWorld is now completely banned in Norway, the activity of the Lyoness / myWorld pyramid scheme has also been banned in Italy, and in Turkey there is a tax liability in the double-digit million range. In Albania and the Balkans, the ministries were informed about criminal proceedings this week – in the Balkans, the former minister, Mr. Zoran Vitanov, also works for myWorld.

The lawyer and general counsel of Lyoness / myWorld is also no stranger, that is to say Dr. Hubert Reif from Graz. Among other things, he is also a lawyer for Novomatic, and maintains a good relationship with the Styrian Bar Association and other legal authorities in Vienna. He was also involved in many myWorld / Lyoness transactions as a shareholder, trustee and dealmaker. In the current financial criminal proceedings in Turkey, one tried to influence the criminal proceedings with bribery. A documented correspondence to the matter is available to the editorship.

Some parliamentary factions and members of Congress could be persuaded in the meantime to take up the Causa Lyoness/myWorld once more and, in the context of a possible parliamentary inquiry to the Ministry of Justice and to the Ministry of the Interior or in a separate statement of facts, to clarify which role Mag. Krumpel, section head Pilnacek, ex-Minister of Justice Wolfgang Brandstätter, President of the National Council and ex-Minister of the Interior Wolfgang Sobotka, chief attorney Hofrat Dr. Klackl, chief attorney Michael Schön and the Ministry of Justice etc. have played in the termination of the proceedings against Lyoness / myWorld.

According to the leaked Pilnacek / Brandstätter chats (report in the media), there should have been a company in the company in the Ministry of Justice.

In any case, a lot of pressure must have been exerted on the judiciary in the “Causa Lyoness” at that time – in order to stop these affairs, which were also clearly proven on the basis of an expert opinion.

According to our information, in the next few days, statements of facts will be submitted personally to the WKStA and other domestic and foreign authorities against Freidl, Sedovnik and Kapun.

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