Martin Schlaff
Encyclopedia
Martin Schlaff is an Austrian
entrepreneur
who was occupied in trade
with East Germany before the German reunification
. According to the German parliament's investigations, Schlaff was an unofficial employee of the Stasi
. His Stasi codename was “Landgraf” and registration number "3886-86".
He is one of the richest people in Austria.
. He and his brother James took over the commercial firm Robert Placzek AG.
The Stasi
archives have files about him as early as 1982. Schlaff had several meetings with East German officials in 1982. Stasi documents describe how Senior Stasi officers were impressed with Schlaff's "extensive holdings, his various companies, and his access to the needed America technology”. Schlaff's Stasi codename was “Landgraf” and his registration number was "3886-86".
According to the German parliament's investigations, Schlaff supplied the German Democratic Republic with goods that were embargo
ed by the West.
Moreover, high-ranking Stasi officers continued their post-DDR careers in management positions in Schlaff’s group of companies. For example, in 1990 Herbert Kohler, Stasi commander in Dresdner, transferred 170 million marks to Schlaff for "harddisks" and months later went to work for him.
The investigations concluded that “Schlaff’s empire of companies played a crucial role” in the Stasi attempts to secure the financial future of Stasi agents and keep the intelligence network alive.
The Stern
magazine noted that KGB
officer Vladimir Putin
worked with his Stasi colleagues in Dresden simultaneously.
In 2010 he established a bank in Liechtenstein called Sygma Bank.
In March 2008, The Sunday Times reported that Schlaff's 2007 divorce from his wife Andrea involved a €200 million settlement, the largest ever reported up to that time.
companies. His confidant Michael Hason holds positions in the Centrex Group, a network of companies controlled by Gazprom. Hason was also president of the Liechtenstein-registered CAP Holding, which holds shares in the Jericho casino for Schlaff and his partners. According to Hareetz, "Hason in fact holds positions in all the companies to which Schlaff is connected: the Robert Placzek lumber trade company, various cell-phone firms, the private family foundation MS Privatstiftung, the Latvian oil company, of which Schlaff is a partner, and more. And several months ago, Schlaff appointed him deputy chairman of Sygma Bank, which he established in Liechtenstein."
Schlaff also owns a company in Cyprus
which is registered at the same address as Centrex Holding and shares some directors with Gazprom companies. Schlaff, Centrex, and Robert Nowikovsky share the same press officer in Vienna.
Nowikovsky is involved with Centrex Group and a director of Central Energy Italian Gas Holding
, a company which was found to secretly benefit Silvio Berlusconi
's friend in an Italian-Russian gas deal.
in partnership with a company partly owned by Yasir Arafat. Named "The Oasis", it was aimed at Israelis, who could not gamble in Israel
where gaming is not legal. The casino was closed during the Second Intifada.
According to later investigations, Schlaff had many meetings with Sharon.
In 2002 Schlaff used his contacts with Sharon to help normalize the Austrian Federal Government
's relations with Israel. The Israeli Government had recalled its ambassador from Vienna, after government participation of the FPÖ
in 2000. A new Israeli ambassador
was sent to Austria in 2004.
In December 2005 Israeli police raided Schlaff's apartment and announced that they had found evidence of a 3 million dollar bribe. Within 24 hours Sharon suffered a stroke and went to coma, never recovering.
Schlaff's partner Robert Nowikovsky has also been investigated.
An investigative exposé in Ha'aretz "targeting Avigdor Lieberman...unearthed connections between the financier of the corruption-laden Oasis Casino in Jericho and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
and his predecessor Ariel Sharon
." Police alleged that Sharon had received a $3 million bribe, and Lieberman is still under investigation for allegedly receiving a bribe from Schlaff.
According to Hareetz, "The $3 million that parachuted into Gilad and Omri Sharon's bank account toward the end of 2002 was transferred there in the context of a consultancy contract for development of kolkhozes (collective farms) in Russia. Gilad Sharon was brought into the campaign to make the wilderness bloom in Russia by Getex, a large Russian-based exporter of seeds (peas, millet, wheat ) from Eastern Europe. Getex also has ties with Israeli firms involved in exporting wheat from Ukraine, for example. The company owns farms in Eastern Europe and is considered large and prominent in its field. It has its Vienna offices in the same building as Jurimex, which was behind the $1-million guarantee to the Yisrael Beiteinu party." Schlaff activities seem to be related to Getex.
In June 2010 Schlaff's NYC
business partner, Solomon Obstfeld, who ran LH Financial, was found dead in an apparent suicide or murder.
In September 2010 journalist Gidi Weitz published an investigative story in Ha'aretz on Schlaff's allegedly corrupt and illegal activities, both financial and political, in several countries including Austria and Israel.
In April 2011, the Israeli foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, was put under investigation after being accused of receiving bribes from Martin Schalff among other businessmen.
Austrians
Austrians are a nation and ethnic group, consisting of the population of the Republic of Austria and its historical predecessor states who share a common Austrian culture and Austrian descent....
entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
who was occupied in trade
Trade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
with East Germany before the German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
. According to the German parliament's investigations, Schlaff was an unofficial employee of the Stasi
Stasi
The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security (German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), commonly known as the Stasi (abbreviation , literally State Security), was the official state security service of East Germany. The MfS was headquartered...
. His Stasi codename was “Landgraf” and registration number "3886-86".
He is one of the richest people in Austria.
Career with East Germany
Schlaff was born in Vienna, Austria to Jewish refugees from World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He and his brother James took over the commercial firm Robert Placzek AG.
The Stasi
Stasi
The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security (German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), commonly known as the Stasi (abbreviation , literally State Security), was the official state security service of East Germany. The MfS was headquartered...
archives have files about him as early as 1982. Schlaff had several meetings with East German officials in 1982. Stasi documents describe how Senior Stasi officers were impressed with Schlaff's "extensive holdings, his various companies, and his access to the needed America technology”. Schlaff's Stasi codename was “Landgraf” and his registration number was "3886-86".
According to the German parliament's investigations, Schlaff supplied the German Democratic Republic with goods that were embargo
Embargo
An embargo is the partial or complete prohibition of commerce and trade with a particular country, in order to isolate it. Embargoes are considered strong diplomatic measures imposed in an effort, by the imposing country, to elicit a given national-interest result from the country on which it is...
ed by the West.
Disappeared public funds after the Fall of the Berlin Wall
When the parliament of Germany investigated public funds that disappeared after the Fall of the Berlin Wall, it found out that East Germany had transferred large amounts of money to Schlaff through accounts in Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, in return for goods “under Western embargo”.Moreover, high-ranking Stasi officers continued their post-DDR careers in management positions in Schlaff’s group of companies. For example, in 1990 Herbert Kohler, Stasi commander in Dresdner, transferred 170 million marks to Schlaff for "harddisks" and months later went to work for him.
The investigations concluded that “Schlaff’s empire of companies played a crucial role” in the Stasi attempts to secure the financial future of Stasi agents and keep the intelligence network alive.
The Stern
Stern (magazine)
Stern is a weekly news magazine published in Germany. It was founded in 1948 by Henri Nannen, and is currently published by Gruner + Jahr, a subsidiary of Bertelsmann. In the first quarter of 2006, its print run was 1.019 million copies and it reached 7.84 million readers according to...
magazine noted that KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
officer Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
worked with his Stasi colleagues in Dresden simultaneously.
Recent activities
In recent years he has purchased mobile phone companies in Eastern Europe and resold them for big profits.In 2010 he established a bank in Liechtenstein called Sygma Bank.
In March 2008, The Sunday Times reported that Schlaff's 2007 divorce from his wife Andrea involved a €200 million settlement, the largest ever reported up to that time.
Links to Gazprom and Russia
Schlaff has links to GazpromGazprom
Open Joint Stock Company Gazprom is the largest extractor of natural gas in the world and the largest Russian company. Its headquarters are in Cheryomushki District, South-Western Administrative Okrug, Moscow...
companies. His confidant Michael Hason holds positions in the Centrex Group, a network of companies controlled by Gazprom. Hason was also president of the Liechtenstein-registered CAP Holding, which holds shares in the Jericho casino for Schlaff and his partners. According to Hareetz, "Hason in fact holds positions in all the companies to which Schlaff is connected: the Robert Placzek lumber trade company, various cell-phone firms, the private family foundation MS Privatstiftung, the Latvian oil company, of which Schlaff is a partner, and more. And several months ago, Schlaff appointed him deputy chairman of Sygma Bank, which he established in Liechtenstein."
Schlaff also owns a company in Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
which is registered at the same address as Centrex Holding and shares some directors with Gazprom companies. Schlaff, Centrex, and Robert Nowikovsky share the same press officer in Vienna.
Nowikovsky is involved with Centrex Group and a director of Central Energy Italian Gas Holding
Central Energy Italian Gas Holding
Central Energy Italian Gas Holding is a gas distribution and trade company. It is a part of the Centrex Group, a company related to Gazprom...
, a company which was found to secretly benefit Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
's friend in an Italian-Russian gas deal.
Activities in Israel
In 1998 Schlaff opened a casino in JerichoJericho
Jericho ; is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate and has a population of more than 20,000. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest permanently...
in partnership with a company partly owned by Yasir Arafat. Named "The Oasis", it was aimed at Israelis, who could not gamble in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
where gaming is not legal. The casino was closed during the Second Intifada.
According to later investigations, Schlaff had many meetings with Sharon.
In 2002 Schlaff used his contacts with Sharon to help normalize the Austrian Federal Government
Austrian Federal Government
The Austrian Federal Government is a collective body of the highest-ranking officers of the Austrian executive branch. It consists of the Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor and the other federal ministers of the cabinet...
's relations with Israel. The Israeli Government had recalled its ambassador from Vienna, after government participation of the FPÖ
Freedom Party of Austria
The Freedom Party of Austria is a political party in Austria. Ideologically, the party is a direct descendant of the German national liberal camp, which dates back to the 1848 revolutions. The FPÖ itself was founded in 1956 as the successor to the short-lived Federation of Independents , which had...
in 2000. A new Israeli ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
was sent to Austria in 2004.
In December 2005 Israeli police raided Schlaff's apartment and announced that they had found evidence of a 3 million dollar bribe. Within 24 hours Sharon suffered a stroke and went to coma, never recovering.
Schlaff's partner Robert Nowikovsky has also been investigated.
An investigative exposé in Ha'aretz "targeting Avigdor Lieberman...unearthed connections between the financier of the corruption-laden Oasis Casino in Jericho and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009, as a Cabinet Minister from 1988 to 1992 and from 2003 to 2006, and as Mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003....
and his predecessor Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
." Police alleged that Sharon had received a $3 million bribe, and Lieberman is still under investigation for allegedly receiving a bribe from Schlaff.
According to Hareetz, "The $3 million that parachuted into Gilad and Omri Sharon's bank account toward the end of 2002 was transferred there in the context of a consultancy contract for development of kolkhozes (collective farms) in Russia. Gilad Sharon was brought into the campaign to make the wilderness bloom in Russia by Getex, a large Russian-based exporter of seeds (peas, millet, wheat ) from Eastern Europe. Getex also has ties with Israeli firms involved in exporting wheat from Ukraine, for example. The company owns farms in Eastern Europe and is considered large and prominent in its field. It has its Vienna offices in the same building as Jurimex, which was behind the $1-million guarantee to the Yisrael Beiteinu party." Schlaff activities seem to be related to Getex.
In June 2010 Schlaff's NYC
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
business partner, Solomon Obstfeld, who ran LH Financial, was found dead in an apparent suicide or murder.
In September 2010 journalist Gidi Weitz published an investigative story in Ha'aretz on Schlaff's allegedly corrupt and illegal activities, both financial and political, in several countries including Austria and Israel.
In April 2011, the Israeli foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, was put under investigation after being accused of receiving bribes from Martin Schalff among other businessmen.
See also
- Sokratis Kokkalis - Another billionaire who worked for the Stasi according to the Stasi archive