Breaking: Financial Intelligence Report Exposing Austrian Connections to Major U.S. Financial Crimes

Part 1: The Roles of Ronny Pecik, Robert Schimanko, and M&A Privatbank in Historical Context

Date of Publication: March 13, 2025
Source Contributions: CIA Report on Ronny Pecik (2015) via FinTelegram, Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT), FinTelegram Archives

Executive Summary

This report investigates the extensive Austrian connections to two of the largest financial fraud cases in U.S. history: the Manhattan Investment Fund (MIF) fraud and the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme. Austrian financiers Ronny Pecik and Robert Schimanko, through their M&A Privatbank, played key roles in the European feeder network that facilitated these financial crimes. Despite their involvement, neither was ever prosecuted in Austria, highlighting systemic gaps in Austrian financial oversight and regulatory enforcement.

The impetus for this report stems from the recent arrest of Austrian real estate speculator René Benko on January 23, 2025, and the subsequent revelation of his clandestine meeting with Robert Schimanko at Benko’s luxury “Chalet N” in Lech on the evening prior to his arrest. Schimanko’s appointment to the INGBE Foundation—a key entity in Benko’s financial network—weeks before this event has raised red flags about the persistence of a shadowy Austrian financial elite with ties to global fraud.

This first part focuses on the historical roles of Ronny Pecik, Robert Schimanko, and their M&A Privatbank in facilitating connections to these U.S.-based scandals, leveraging forensic analysis and a 2015 CIA report on Pecik as a foundational source. Parts 2 and 3 will explore contemporary connections and broader networks, respectively.

Introduction: A Trigger for Investigation

The arrest of René Benko, once a titan of Austrian real estate through his Signa Group, has reignited scrutiny of Austria’s financial underworld. Benko’s detention by Austrian authorities on suspicion of asset concealment and fraud, coupled with his secret meeting with Robert Schimanko at Chalet N on January 22, 2025, suggests ongoing coordination among Austria’s financial elite.

Schimanko’s recent appointment to the INGBE Foundation, named after Benko’s mother and suspected of harboring hidden assets, amplifies concerns about the continuity of opaque financial practices. This report begins by tracing Schimanko and his long-time associate Ronny Pecik’s roles in two landmark U.S. financial crimes, revealing a pattern of Austrian involvement that has largely evaded prosecution in their home country.

Historical Context: Pecik, Schimanko, and Bank Austria’s New York Operations

Ronny Pecik and Robert Schimanko’s financial careers began in the early 1990s at Viennese Länderbank and later Bank Austria, where they worked as traders. Their tenure at Bank Austria’s New York office during this period is critical, as it overlapped with Sonja Kohn, a central figure in the Madoff scandal.

Kohn, who operated Bank Medici and shared office space with Bank Austria in New York, is widely regarded as Madoff’s key European conduit, funneling billions into his Ponzi scheme. According to a Viennese banker familiar with their activities, Pecik and Schimanko’s presence in New York positioned them within a nexus of Austrian financial operatives with direct access to U.S. markets—a nexus that would later prove instrumental in both the MIF and Madoff frauds.

The 2015 CIA report on Ronny Pecik, obtained by FinTelegram, explicitly links Pecik, Schimanko, and their legal counsel, Christian Hausmaninger, to the Madoff fraud, citing their personal and professional ties to Kohn. This overlap in New York during the 1990s suggests that their early exposure to U.S. financial systems and networks laid the groundwork for their subsequent involvement in fraudulent enterprises.

The Manhattan Investment Fund (MIF): An Early Austrian-U.S. Fraud Connection

Key Findings on MIF

• Fraudulent Activities: Berger specialized in short-selling technology stocks, believing they were overvalued. When his bets failed, he falsified financial reports to cover nearly $500 million in losses.
• Schimanko’s Role: Berger appointed Schimanko to the MIF board, along with their former colleague Rene Riefler. Bank Austria, where Pecik had worked, invested $21 million into the fund.
• Regulatory Evasion: Despite SEC fraud charges in January 2000, Berger fled to Austria before sentencing. Austrian authorities refused his extradition, allowing him to serve only two years in prison after being arrested in 2007.
• Potential Knowledge of Madoff: The CIA re

The Manhattan Investment Fund (MIF), founded by Austrian Michael Berger in 1996, represents one of the earliest significant investment fraud schemes uncovered by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Berger, a hedge fund manager, shorted technology stocks during the dot-com boom, a strategy that failed spectacularly as prices soared. To mask losses approaching $400 million, Berger fabricated financial statements, deceiving investors, administrators, and auditors. Bank Austria, where Pecik and Schimanko had worked, invested at least $21 million in MIF, underscoring its role as a key financial backer.

Robert Schimanko’s direct involvement is evident: he was appointed to MIF’s board alongside Rene Riefler, another trader linked to Pecik and Schimanko from their Bank Austria days. This board position, held during MIF’s operational years (1996–2000), implicates Schimanko in the fund’s governance at a time when Berger was orchestrating the fraud.

When the SEC and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) charged Berger with fraud in January 2000, Schimanko was arrested in the U.S. in connection with the case. However, his release was swiftly negotiated by Christian Hausmaninger, a prominent Austrian lawyer who also represented Pecik and later played a significant role in Madoff-related legal maneuvers.

Berger, after pleading guilty, fled to Austria in 2002, evading a 6.5-year U.S. prison sentence. Despite his arrest in Austria in 2007, he served only two years domestically, and Austria refused extradition—a pattern of leniency that protected Schimanko as well.

The CIA report suggests that Berger knew Madoff’s operations as early as 2000, potentially offering this intelligence to the SEC to mitigate his own punishment—an offer the SEC evidently declined. This raises questions about whether Austrian authorities shielded Berger, and by extension Schimanko, due to their mutual awareness of broader financial malfeasance involving Madoff.

M&A Privatbank: A Conduit for Madoff Investments

M&A Privatbank’s Role in Madoff’s Network

• Founded in 2000 by Pecik and Schimanko, along with the controversial businessman Mirko Kovats.
• Feeder Fund Operations: M&A Privatbank invested in Herald Lux, a Madoff-affiliated fund set up through Bank Medici, another Austrian institution heavily involved in the fraud.
• Schimanko’s Connection to Bank Medici: Former M&A CEO Peter Scheithauer was later recruited to run Bank Medici, which funneled $10 billion to Madoff.
• Judicial Protection: Despite documented evidence of their financial ties to Madoff’s scheme, Austrian prosecutors took no action against Pecik or Schimanko.

The Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, the largest financial fraud in history, was a decades-long operation in which Bernard L. Madoff falsely claimed to generate consistent, high investment returns through a sophisticated trading strategy. In reality, Madoff used new investors’ funds to pay returns to earlier investors, creating the illusion of profitability while concealing the absence of actual trading activity. The scheme unraveled in December 2008, when Madoff confessed to his sons that his firm was “one big lie,” leading to his arrest. Investors, including banks, charities, and pension funds, lost an estimated $65 billion. The fraud was facilitated by feeder funds, including Austrian financial institutions like Bank Medici, which funneled billions into Madoff’s scheme, reinforcing Austria’s role as a critical hub in the global financial network that enabled the Ponzi operation.

Following the MIF collapse, Pecik and Schimanko founded M&A Privatbank in Vienna in 2000, with support from Karin Wlaschek and Mirko Kovats. This boutique bank quickly became a vehicle for investing in Madoff’s Ponzi scheme through Austrian feeder funds, notably those linked to Sonja Kohn’s Bank Medici.

The CIA report details M&A’s extensive connections to Madoff, facilitated by Pecik and Schimanko’s prior acquaintance with Kohn and their strategic hires. The Austrian banker Peter Scheithauer, M&A’s CEO from 2004 to 2006, joined Kohn’s Bank Medici in 2008 as CEO, just before Madoff’s scheme unraveled, and served as a director of Herald Lux, an M&A-invested feeder fund. Christian Hausmaninger, meanwhile, deepened M&A’s Madoff ties as a director of the Senator Fund, which channeled $247 million into Madoff’s operations.

By 2009, as Madoff’s collapse threatened M&A’s solvency, the bank was sold to the GRAWE Group’s Capital Bank. Ownership stakes at the time of sale included Pecik (15%), the Romado Trust (controlled by Schimanko and his family), Mirko Kovats (25%), and Claudia and Thomas Honigsberger (24%). This sale insulated Pecik and Schimanko from immediate fallout, preserving their influence within Austria’s financial circles.

Another key person around Ronny Pecik was involved in the Madoff scheme. The former CEO of the Vienna Stock Exchange (200-2006), Stefan Zapotocky, is an advisor and confidant of Pecik. Since 2019, Zapotocky has been Chairman of the Board of the RPR Private Foundation Vienna, which Pecik controls.

During the Madoff scandal, Stefan Zapotocky was on the supervisory board of the Alpha Prime Fund, which was co-developed by Sonia Kohn. Kohn, the owner of the former Bank Medici, played a key role in attracting European investors to Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. She is said to have earned around 50 million euros a year by attracting funds that were transferred to Madoff via the Cayman Islands.

Zapotocky resigned from the supervisory board of Banken-Österreichische Industrie-Holding AG (Fimbag ) on December 18, 2008, after it became known that he had sat on the board of the Alpha Prime Fund.

The Role of the Lawyer

One of the key reasons Pecik, Schimanko, and their associates avoided prosecution is the influence of their legal counsel, Christian Hausmaninger, a lawyer deeply entrenched in Austrian and U.S. financial circles.

Key Findings

• Hausmaninger represented Schimanko in the U.S. MIF case, personally negotiating his release and preventing his extradition.
• He was a director of the Senator Fund, an Austrian feeder fund that transferred $247 million to Madoff.
• Connections to Austria’s judiciary: Hausmaninger’s influence ensured that investigations into Pecik’s and Schimanko’s role in Madoff’s network were effectively buried.

Hausmaninger was involved in setting up the Alpha Prime Fund, which transferred all of the fund’s assets to Madoff. The fund was set up by Viennese bankers, including Stefan Zapotocky, and distributed in Austria. Hausmaninger defended the fund in civil proceedings and disputed the legitimacy of investors whose money flowed into Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.

Forensic Analysis: Patterns of Impunity and Network Leverage

From a forensic perspective, Pecik and Schimanko’s roles in MIF and Madoff exhibit a consistent modus operandi: leveraging Austrian banking infrastructure to support U.S.-based frauds while evading accountability at home. Bank Austria’s early investment in MIF and M&A’s later role as a Madoff feeder fund highlight a reliance on cross-border financial opacity. Hausmaninger’s legal interventions—securing Schimanko’s release and representing Madoff-related entities—further suggest a coordinated effort to shield key players. Austria’s refusal to extradite Berger, combined with the lack of domestic prosecutions tied to either scandal, points to systemic protectionism, possibly driven by the implicated parties’ knowledge of broader schemes.

The recent Benko-Schimanko meeting at Chalet N, alongside Schimanko’s INGBE Foundation role, indicates this network remains active, adapting historical tactics to contemporary contexts. The CIA report’s assertion of Pecik and Schimanko’s Madoff ties, corroborated by their New York overlap with Kohn, underscores their centrality to these transatlantic frauds.

Conclusion and Next Steps

This first part establishes Pecik and Schimanko as pivotal Austrian figures in the MIF and Madoff scandals, with M&A Privatbank serving as a critical conduit. Their early careers at Bank Austria, board-level involvement in MIF, and Madoff investments via M&A reveal a decades-long pattern of exploiting financial systems across borders. The Benko connection, detailed in Part 2, will explore how these historical ties inform current financial misconduct, while Part 3 will map the wider Austrian network’s influence on global financial crime. Together, these sections will illuminate the enduring legacy of Austria’s financial elite in shaping some of the U.S.’s most notorious frauds.

Key Data Table

Below is a table summarizing the key individuals and legal entities mentioned in the financial intelligence report, along with their roles and connections to the Manhattan Investment Fund (MIF), the Bernie Madoff scandal, and the recent René Benko developments. This table is designed to provide a clear, concise overview for forensic analysis and is based on the information provided in the report.

Notes on the Table:

1. Roles/Positions: Reflect the primary capacities in which individuals or entities operated within the context of the report.
2. Connections: Indicate direct or indirect involvement in the MIF fraud, the Madoff scandal, or the recent Benko developments as of March 13, 2025.
3. Scope: The table focuses on entities and individuals explicitly named in the provided text and Part 1 of the report, ensuring alignment with the forensic perspective.
4. Further Details: Additional connections and roles may be elaborated in Parts 2 and 3 of the report, as noted in the conclusion of Part 1.

This table serves as a reference for tracking the complex network of Austrian financial actors and their intersections with U.S.-based financial crimes, as well as their potential relevance to the ongoing Benko investigation.

End of Part 1