Keep Us Strong WikiLeaks logo

Currently released so far... 1295 / 251,287

Articles

Browse latest releases

Browse by creation date

Browse by origin

A B C D F H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Y Z

Browse by tag

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
QA
YM YI YE

Browse by classification

Community resources

courage is contagious

Viewing cable 05VIENNA3833, DEMARCHE TO AUSTRIA ON QUESTIONABLE TRANSACTIONS

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs

Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
  • The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
  • The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
  • The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.

Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #05VIENNA3833.
Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
05VIENNA3833 2005-12-07 17:05 2010-12-01 21:09 SECRET Embassy Vienna
Appears in these articles:
http://www.spiegel.de
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
S E C R E T VIENNA 003833

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/AGS - VIKMANIS-KELLER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/07/2015
TAGS: PARM PREL MNUC KCRM KTFN KNNP EU AU
SUBJECT: DEMARCHE TO AUSTRIA ON QUESTIONABLE TRANSACTIONS
BY TWO AUSTRIAN BANKS

REF: STATE 220738

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Scott F. Kilner. Reasons: 1.4 (b) an
d (d).

1. (SBU) On December 7, Charge was able to reach Chancellery
Diplomatic Advisor Hans-Peter Manz by telephone as Manz was
about to leave with the Chancellor for Washington. Charge
presented the unclassified portions of reftel demarche, and
undertook to arrange for the classified portions to reach
Manz in Washington. Manz listened attentively to the points,
and said he would consider them carefully and inform the
Chancellor.

2. (S) In the absence of the Finance Minister, EconPolCouns
and Econ Unit Chief presented reftel points on December 7 to
xxxxx told us that
Austrian authorities welcomed our information, and wanted to
pursue cases that merited further action. They noted that
our list of incidents involved several diverse issues: some
were money laundering cases, some involved terrorist
financing, and others involved proliferation financing. This
involved different enforcement entities and legal frameworks.
xxxxx said they would consult with the various
Austrian agencies with a stake in these cases.

3. (S) Many of the incidents we discussed were well known to
Austrian authorities, according to xxxxx, and in
some cases had been the subject of thorough investigations.
For instance, in the case related to Russian crime boss
Semyon Mogilevich, Austrian authorities had investigated the
Austrian head of Raiffeisen Investment AG in Kiev, but were
unable to prove that he had knowledge of the illegal
transactions. Therefore, Austrian authorities would be
"eager" to receive more evidence on this and other cases.
The Austrian Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which resides
in the Federal Criminal Office, and the Financial Market
Authority (FMA), which oversees the banking sector, would
welcome concrete evidence, xxxxx said.

4. (S) Some terrorist finance cases concerned entities which
are not on the EU or UN lists, and therefore not subject to
legal sanctions.xxxxx noted that Austria, the
U.S. and Israel had worked for years on the case of the
Palestinian Association of Austria (PVOE), but there was
insufficient evidence to support listing. The PVOE was now
the subject of a pending court case.

5. (S)xxxxx said they would review our list of
cases with a view toward identifying specific information
requests. However, they added that the U.S. Financial Crimes
Enforcement Network (FinCEN) should work closely with the
Austrian FIU to identify concerns. This was especially the
case regarding questions arising from suspicious transactions.

6, (SBU) Post will continue to pursue this matter with
Austrian financial authorities.
Kilner