In May 2021, Peter Weinzierl, the former CEO of the now-defunct Meinl Bank, was arrested on US charges at a London airfield after piloting his private jet. US officials investigating international money laundering believed he would hold “valuable information” about individuals in Russia and Ukraine. Weinziel said he was “lured” by a CIA agent to Britain to be more easily extradited to the US. He is expected to be extradited to the U.S.
The Extradition
On June 5, 2023, the judge at the Magistrates’ Court in London is to decide whether Peter Weinzierl will be extradited to the USA. It could well be that the Americans want to know from Weinzierl, above all, information about money flows from Russians and Ukrainians via Meinl Bank. The alleged corruption affair in Brazil really does seem a bit strange.
An ex-Meinl executive, Matvei Hutman, said in a court filing that the CIA agent actually wanted to force Weinzierl to give up “valuable information about persons of interest in the CIS region, particularly in Ukraine and Russia.”
The Brazilian Case
The Austrian nationals Peter Weinzierl and Alexander Waldstein are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of international promotional money laundering. They have allegedly been involved in a massive money laundering scheme involving Odebrecht S.A. (Odebrecht), a Brazil-based global construction conglomerate.
“The whole thing is absurd, I am being held as an Austrian in England by the Americans for an alleged tax evasion in Brazil, for which no one has been convicted in Brazil itself,” Weinzierl said. He said that in extradition proceedings the presumption of innocence is de facto suspended and that the rights of the accused are insufficient. He had no insight into the U.S. file and could hardly defend himself against false statements.
The Russian Case
In September 2020, FinTelegram reported that a significant portion of the Suspicious Activity Reports (SARS) revealed by the FinCEN Leaks involved Austrian Meinl Bank and its subsidiary Meinl Bank Antigua. In addition, the OCCRP report titled The Vienna Bank Job revealed that the bank laundered hundreds of millions from Ukraine. Furthermore, cybercrime activists such as Russian Vladislav Smirnov also used Meinl Bank for his business.
Smirnov operated the Moscow-based payment processor NetPay (www.net2pay.ru) and used the Austrian Meinl Bank for his transactions. In 2018, Smirnov used Meinl Bank to invest in Telegram’s Initial Coin Offering (ICO). The U.S. SEC later declared this ICO illegal, and Telegram had to return the funds to investors. Smirnov’s money at the Meinl Bank accounts was frozen (read our report here).
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If you have any information about Meinl Bank, Peter Weinzierl, or Vladislav Smirnov, please let us know through our whistleblower system, Whistle42.
