Tag: Alexander Waldstein

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced a new approach for the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). However, the indictments against the former Austrian banker Peter Weinzierl and other foreign bankers in the Odebrecht case are not based on violations of the FCPA. Instead, the DOJ charged Weinzierl and his co-defendant, Alexander Waldstein, with multiple counts of money laundering and related financial crimes under U.S. money laundering statutes

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.

Austria's Meinl Bank was notorious for its role in the international money laundering scene. 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. Meinl Bank has since closed; its former CEO, Peter Weinzierl, was arrested yesterday in the UK.