THE CORE OF THE SCANDAL

OVERVIEW OF THE FILE

The Mostviertel File is not an ordinary banking case. It is also not an isolated insolvency case or a mere dispute between a bank and individual real-estate companies.

The evaluated documents instead draw the picture of a years-long dispute in which real-estate values, financing arrangements, enforcement powers, purchase agreements, loan terminations, insolvency proceedings, court decisions and economic interests intersect.

Statement of facts and criminal complaint: This documentation is based, among other things, on a statement of facts and criminal complaint filed by an injured company against members of the management board of Raiffeisenbank Mostviertel as well as against further, as yet unknown perpetrators. According to the information in this statement of facts, an economic loss of more than EUR 10 million is asserted. The statement of facts includes, among other things, allegations of serious fraud, deception, breach of trust, formation of a criminal organisation, abuse and further criminally relevant acts. This list represents only an excerpt of the allegations raised. The documentation reproduces these contents exclusively as part of the evaluated documents. The competent prosecuting authorities and courts alone are responsible for deciding on their merits and any criminal liability. For all persons named in this context, the presumption of innocence applies until a final court decision has been rendered.

Raiffeisenbank Mostviertel stands at the centre of numerous proceedings. Its name appears repeatedly in connection with property transfers, enforcement powers, loan terminations, realisations, purchase agreements and later insolvency proceedings.

It is striking that the same names, companies and institutions recur in the documents over the years. Particularly frequently mentioned are Raiffeisenbank Mostviertel, the FWP/Fellner law firm, Dr. Markus Fellner, Mr. Kurt Moser, Mr. Hannes Scheuchelbauer, Ms. Beatrix De Monte, Ms. Mag. Elisabeth Freilinger, Mr. Mag. Martin Ogris, Dr. Angela Steger and various companies of the BBB Group.

The file reveals a network of banks, real-estate companies, lawyers, insolvency administration, court decisions and economic interests. The recurrence of particular names and structures makes it a central subject of further review.

ENFORCEMENT POWERS, PURCHASE AGREEMENTS AND PROPERTY TRANSFERS

A substantial part of the file concerns property transfers, purchase agreements and realisation processes carried out on the basis of enforcement powers.

Raiffeisenbank Mostviertel is repeatedly at the centre of these events. The documents show that individual realisation steps were taken in the bank’s environment and were legally accompanied by the FWP/Fellner law firm. In this context, Dr. Markus Fellner is also specifically named.

For the affected companies, these were not arbitrary assets. In many cases, the properties formed the economic basis of entire corporate structures. The loss of such assets therefore had significance not only for balance sheets but also for the continued existence, liquidity and economic future of the companies concerned.

Several of these events later became the subject of judicial review. Individual purchase agreements or transfer processes were legally reassessed by higher-court decisions.

This gives rise to a central question: what effects did these later legal assessments have on already completed realisations, existing claims, credit positions and subsequent insolvency proceedings?

The economic explosiveness lies in the fact that individual companies had already lost their assets while the legal assessment of certain events took place only later. It therefore remains in issue whether later proceedings were based on an economic starting point already shaped by earlier realisation processes.

CONSEQUENCES OF COURT DECISIONS

Later court decisions changed the position of numerous parties involved.

The documents show that individual purchase agreements or transfer processes were rescinded or legally reassessed. This brought the effects on already completed realisations, ongoing proceedings, existing claims and later insolvency proceedings to the centre of attention.

Many of the subsequent disputes are closely connected to these developments in both time and economic substance.

This connection is what makes the Mostviertel File particularly significant: decisions, realisations, loan terminations and insolvency proceedings cannot be viewed in isolation. They form a chain of economic and legal developments that must be examined as a whole.

The decisive issue is therefore not only whether individual steps were formally permissible. Equally important is what economic consequences those steps had and whether later proceedings were already materially influenced by earlier decisions.

FWP/FELLNER LAW FIRM

The FWP/Fellner law firm is repeatedly named in connection with numerous proceedings.

The documents show that the firm acted for various Raiffeisen banks over a period of years and accompanied numerous proceedings relating to real estate, financing, loan terminations and realisations.

Particular attention was given to the question of multiple representation of different banks in proceedings involving the same debtors or corporate groups.

At the centre of these discussions is also Dr. Markus Fellner, whose name appears in many of the evaluated documents and proceedings.

The issue of multiple representation is of considerable importance because a judicial clarification could have affected existing mandates, comparable proceedings and earlier realisation processes.

The focus of the continuing review is therefore the role the firm actually assumed in the respective proceedings, which banks were represented, what flows of information existed and what effects a potential conflict of interest may have had on individual proceedings.

BBB IMMO COMPLEX

The following sections address the BBB Immo complex in its full breadth: the lawsuit against multiple representation, the company’s economic significance, the ownership and participation structure, the insolvency proceedings, the role of the courts and the insolvency administration.

LAWSUIT AGAINST MULTIPLE REPRESENTATION

The lawsuit brought by BBB Immo against the multiple representation of several Raiffeisen banks by the FWP/Fellner law firm is of particular significance.

According to the evaluated documents, those affected included in particular Raiffeisenbank Mostviertel, Raiffeisenbank Wienerwald and Raiffeisenbank Stockerau eGen.

This lawsuit developed into a central element of the further legal disputes.

Its significance lies not only in the specific dispute. A judicial clarification could have had implications beyond the individual case. It could have raised questions about existing mandates, the role of the law firm involved, comparable proceedings and the treatment of further debtor or corporate groups.

For this reason, this lawsuit forms an important part of the overall Mostviertel File.

ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE AND OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE

According to the evaluated documents, BBB Immo was part of a corporate group with extensive real-estate activities.

The company’s economic significance results from the affected property values, the financed projects and the later court and insolvency proceedings.

It was therefore not an arbitrary company but a real-estate player with substantial assets and complex financing structures. For this reason, the developments surrounding this company are of particular importance within the file.

The ownership and participation structure of the BBB Group forms another essential part of the documentation. In this context, the evaluated documents refer in particular to NARA AG and NARA International Holding AG.

In this connection, Dr. Per Troen is also named, who according to the evaluated documents is counted among the significant owners or beneficial owners of the holding structure.

In addition, the documents refer to participations or connections to the South Korean NARA Group Ltd., which are relevant in connection with the ownership or participation structure of the corporate group.

The ownership and participation relationships of the companies involved therefore form another essential element of the continuing review.

INSOLVENCY PROCEEDINGS

The insolvency of BBB Immo forms a central section of the file.

The documents show that an insolvency petition was initially dismissed. Later, however, insolvency proceedings were opened.

This chronological sequence is at the centre of numerous discussions. It raises the question of what circumstances are said to have changed within a short period of time and what economic and legal consequences the later opening of insolvency proceedings had.

It is particularly significant that a company of this size cannot be viewed separately from its property values, financing arrangements, ongoing proceedings and economic structures.

The insolvency of BBB Immo is therefore not merely a procedural section, but one of the central turning points of the entire file.

ROLE OF THE COURTS

Different court decisions are also addressed in connection with the various proceedings.

Particular reference is made to the role of Ms. Mag. Elisabeth Freilinger.

At the same time, reference is made to other proceedings in which Mr. Mag. Martin Ogris is said to have applied stricter requirements to insolvency petitions.

The differing assessments of comparable facts form a significant element of the further review.

This point is essential for understanding the file. In such proceedings, court decisions can have not only legal but also major economic consequences. They decide whether companies can continue, whether realisations are stopped, whether creditors are satisfied or whether insolvency proceedings are opened.

The question of the consistency, comprehensibility and economic significance of individual decisions therefore becomes a central topic of the Mostviertel File.

INSOLVENCY ADMINISTRATION: DR. ANGELA STEGER

The appointment of Dr. Angela Steger as insolvency administrator is also addressed.

The proceedings concerned substantial real-estate values and complex economic structures. For this reason, the selection and certain decisions within the proceedings are the focus of the discussion.

The role of the insolvency administration forms a further focus of the file, particularly with regard to the economic effects on the companies concerned, creditors, investors and other parties involved.

In particular, the decisions taken in the proceedings, their economic consequences and their assessment within the overall context of the file are subject to further review.

FINANCIAL MARKET AUTHORITY

Over the years, complaints, notices, statements of facts and extensive documents were submitted to various bodies.

In this context, the role of the Financial Market Authority is also addressed and documented.

The question of what measures were taken as a result of these submissions and what consequences followed remains a central element of the continuing review.

In a file involving banks, real-estate financing, realisation processes, loan terminations and economically significant companies, the supervisory-law dimension is of particular importance.

CURRENT STATUS

The Mostviertel File is not closed to this day.

Proceedings, claims and legal disputes continue to exist. New documents, further decisions and additional procedural steps may change or specify the assessment of individual events.

The final legal assessment of the individual events remains, of course, reserved to the competent courts and authorities.

One thing is clear, however: this file has long been more than a single insolvency case. It includes real-estate transactions, purchase agreements, higher-court decisions, banking proceedings, insolvency proceedings, damages claims, ownership structures and numerous open legal questions.

This documentation therefore does not constitute a conclusion, but the current status of an ongoing review. Further documents, decisions and procedural steps will be addressed in separate contributions and documentation.

THE NETWORK BEHIND THE TRANSACTIONS

ALRAG AG, Mr. Mag. Jakob Bleckmann, Mr. Mag. Klaus Fischer and Herrengasse 6–8

A further focus of this contribution concerns the property Herrengasse 6–8 in Vienna and the corporate, financing and ownership structures behind it.

This property ranks among the most remarkable real-estate transactions of recent years. The level of the purchase prices, the structure of the acquiring companies, the role of individual persons and the financing by the Liechtensteinische Landesbank make this matter a separate research complex within the file.

The documents show that the property was transferred in several transaction steps. One part was sold by Dr. Gottfried Thiery, who according to the available information had himself been connected to the property through earlier family transfers or gifts. Further shares were transferred by minority owners or additional owners.

The documented purchase prices are in an order of magnitude clearly exceeding EUR 100 million.

In connection with the financing, the Liechtensteinische Landesbank is particularly notable. The research references indicate that the financing or collateralisation is said to have reached a volume of around EUR 160 million. This raises the central question of the economic basis on which financing of this size was granted, what securities actually underlay the bank’s position and who stood economically behind the structures involved.

It is also questioned whether and to what extent assets or economic interests from earlier major Austrian real-estate structures reappear today in new structures around Mr. Mag. Jakob Bleckmann, Mr. Mag. Klaus Fischer or connected companies.

In the environment of the transaction, Mr. Mag. Jakob Bleckmann and Mr. Mag. Klaus Fischer appear in particular. Both were formerly connected to the Gassauer law firm and today appear in various real-estate and corporate structures.

In this context, numerous questions arise regarding fiduciary arrangements, participation structures, beneficial owners and actual providers of capital.

The research references also address Mr. Mag. Jakob Bleckmann and his international business contacts. Contacts to Mr. Beny Steinmetz are also mentioned. These references are relevant for the further review because they concern international sources of capital, networks and economic backgrounds of the real-estate structures described.

Particular attention is also directed to Mr. Moritz Zöchling. He appears in several corporate documents. According to the research references, Mr. Moritz Zöchling was around 25 years old in connection with these events.

In this context, Mr. Michael Zöchling, the father of Mr. Moritz Zöchling, is also named. The research references indicate that Mr. Michael Zöchling belonged for years to the closer professional environment of Mr. René Benko and held responsible functions there.

Against this background, the question arises how Mr. Moritz Zöchling, already at around 25 years of age, appeared in the environment of a real-estate transaction or financing of this scale, and which economic decision-makers, investors or capital providers accompanied the decisive financing and decision-making processes in the background. The documentation also raises the question whether Mr. Moritz Zöchling, in connection with ALRAG AG, Mr. Mag. Jakob Bleckmann and Mr. Mag. Klaus Fischer, held an independent economic role or whether he primarily fulfilled a fronting function within the structures described.

The central question of this section is therefore how substantial real-estate financing arrangements and transactions in the hundreds-of-millions range could become possible within a short period of time, who the beneficial owners behind the structures actually were and what role banks, lawyers, fiduciary structures, international contacts and earlier real-estate networks played in this.

JP Immobilien, Dr. Daniel Jelitzka and Mr. Mohammed Reza Akhavan Aghdam

A further topic concerns JP Immobilien and the development surrounding Dr. Daniel Jelitzka and Mr. Mohammed Reza Akhavan Aghdam, who today appears under the name Mr. Reza Akhavan.

This subject area also concerns not merely a single real-estate group, but the development of a broader economic network over several decades.

The available information shows that the business development of the two began already in the 1990s. The cooperation is said to have started, among other things, in the environment of a restaurant in Vienna. In the following years, one of Austria’s best-known real-estate groups developed from this cooperation.

Particular interest exists in connection with the former Constantia Group. Dr. Daniel Jelitzka is said to have operated at that time in a relevant environment around Mr. Karl Petrikovics or the Constantia structures.

After the collapse of the Immofinanz or Constantia structures, the question arises which properties were taken over on what terms and whether individual transactions may have occurred below their actual economic value.

The further review therefore focuses on the development of JP Immobilien, the role of Dr. Daniel Jelitzka, the role of Mr. Reza Akhavan, earlier names as well as economic connections to earlier banking and real-estate structures.

A further question concerns the financing of individual projects. The available information shows that in this connection the name of Mr. Johann Huber, the former owner of Hubers Landhendl, is also mentioned.

The extent to which Mr. Johann Huber acted as investor, financier or provider of capital remains the subject of further documentation.

This topic also raises the central question of how capital, real estate, banks, investors and personal networks interacted and what role earlier economic connections played in later real-estate developments.

FURTHER TOPICS: Mr. Klemens Hallmann, WINEGG AND REAL-ESTATE NETWORKS

Further documents and information concern Mr. Klemens Hallmann, WINEGG and further persons from the environment of larger Austrian real-estate groups.

In this context, earlier names, economic structures, financing arrangements and connections to banks, advisers and insolvency proceedings are to be examined more closely.

Here too, the issue is not merely individual persons or companies. Rather, the question arises whether various real-estate groups, financiers, banks, advisers and investors were active over the years in interlinked structures.

At the conclusion of this thematic block, the available information also refers to documents, statements of facts and further references concerning Mr. Günter Kerbler. These documents are to be evaluated separately and compared with the other research findings.

These topics form the second larger supplementary block to the existing working version of the Mostviertel File.

The aim is not to view the available information in isolation, but as part of a larger picture of banks, real estate, fiduciary structures, financing arrangements, lawyers, investors, international contacts and economic networks.

SOURCES, METHODOLOGY AND LEGAL NOTICE

This documentation is based on the evaluation of court decisions, contracts, company register documents, financing documents, expert reports, statements of facts, criminal complaints, submissions and further documents.

Where allegations from statements of facts, criminal complaints or other documents are reproduced, this is done solely to document the respective submission or procedural status. Such reproduction does not constitute any independent criminal-law or civil-law finding.

For all persons and institutions named in this documentation, the presumption of innocence applies unless a final court decision exists.