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'''Gustl Mollath''' (born 7 November 1956) is a German [[whistleblower]] from [[Nuremberg]] who reported about 'black money' (i.e. untaxed, laundered etc. money) transfers from [[Germany]] to [[Switzerland]], and was then admitted to a mental institution as criminally insane in a possible [[miscarriage of justice]] scandal. |
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'''Gustl Mollath''' (born 7 November 1956) is a German [[whistleblower]] from [[Nuremberg]] who reported about 'black money' (i.e. untaxed, laundered etc. money) transfers from [[Germany]] to [[Switzerland]]. He was the husband of a [[HypoVereinsbank]] employee who was deeply involved in the cases. He sent reports to the bank first, later he also filed charges at the Bavarian prosecution department. The Bavarian prosecution department ignored his reports<ref>The Bavarian state prosecution department dismissed his charges in 2003, claiming, they were [http://www.heise.de/tp/blogs/8/153175 "too inacurate" and "too general"]. Gustl was naming names and bank accounts. The HypoVereinsbank answered to questions why their reaction was just an internal one and why they did not file charges in 2003, when their internal audit report was ready, with the explanation that the audit results were [http://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/vorwuerfe-gegen-hypovereinsbank-gustl-und-das-schwarzgeld-1.1522324 too vague], which is described by the [http://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/vorwuerfe-gegen-hypovereinsbank-gustl-und-das-schwarzgeld-1.1522324 Süddeutsche] as a grotesque downplay</ref> but instead prosecuted a case of personal charges filed by his former wife. As a result, he has been declared not guilty by reason of insanity, and as a danger to society committed to a hospital for the criminally insane, where he remains to this date (Dec 2012). The judgement/sentence was signed in 2006. Mollath's filed charges about the black money transfers landed, after being laid ad acta by the Bavarian prosecution department, on the desk of the tax authority, in 2004. The tax authority also quickly closed this case without further detailed investigation. It was later revealed that the reason for this quick closure was quite probably a certain call made by judge Brixner - he called the tax authority and advised them not to take the charges seriously, describing Mollath as a confused person<ref>[http://www.nordbayern.de/region/ein-anruf-bei-finanzbehorden-stoppte-brisanten-vorgang-1.2544018 Nov 30th, 2012 - Ein Anruf bei Finanzbehörden stoppte brisanten Vorgang, online on nordbayern.de]</ref>. The article by the Nürnberger Nachrichten was then declared by the Bavarian Justice Minister Beate Merk as the actual reason why she finally ordered a total review of the case on November 30th, 2012<ref>[http://www.nordbayern.de/region/fall-mollath-merk-beantragt-wiederaufnahme-des-verfahrens-1.2545338 Fall Mollath: Merk beantragt Wiederaufnahme des Verfahrens, Nov 30th, 2012] - quotation: "... Der Ministeriumssprecher betonte, dass allein der neue Bericht der «Nürnberger Nachrichten» Anlass für Merk gewesen sei, einen Antrag auf Wiederaufnahme des Verfahrens zu veranlassen. ...", translation: "... The Minister spokesperson stressed that only the new report of the "Nürnberger Nachrichten" gave reason to order a resumption of the case ...", later highlighted further by the [https://twitter.com/NN_Online/statuses/274553097605505024 Nürnberger Nachrichten twitter account]. Given the high amount of media reports, there are enough reasons to assume there was a new fact needed in order to publicly back up the total review of the case, since the people in the country were increasingly dissatisfied with Merks behaviour, see, as just an example of many, the [http://www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/fall-mollath-herrn-mollath-und-frau-merk-umgehend-entlassen-1.1537004 Süddeutsche article "Reaktionen auf Fall Mollath - "Herrn Mollath und Frau Merk umgehend entlassen"] (Translation of the title: "Reactions to Case Mollath - Dismiss Mrs. Merk and release Mr. Mollath immediately")</ref>. |
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==Whistleblower== |
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Report Mainz/ZDF [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustl_Mollath#Web_Links reported] about this case in a widely noticed tv report. An unabridged version of the interview contained therein with the current Bavarian minister of justice Mrs. Beate Merk, who seemed to be tenaciously evading the very specific questions put to her, is also available.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31KJ3QzWKeg link to full length interview Report Mainz with Beate Merk]</ref> |
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Anxious about his then-wife's business practice which he considered illegal, Mollath informed her employer, the [[HypoVereinsbank]] (HVB) first and later the public prosecution autorities. Despite a high level of detail including names and bank accounts, his allegations were initially dismissed by the public prosecution authorities as "too inaccurate" and "too generic",<ref>[http://www.heise.de/tp/blogs/8/153175]</ref> and as [[paranoid]] rants. In 2004, tax authorities did not pursue the matter after a judge informed them of his opinion that Mollath was a confused person.<ref>[http://www.nordbayern.de/region/ein-anruf-bei-finanzbehorden-stoppte-brisanten-vorgang-1.2544018 Nov 30th, 2012 - Ein Anruf bei Finanzbehörden stoppte brisanten Vorgang, online on nordbayern.de]</ref> |
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==Judged criminally insane== |
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Mollath found himself tried for various criminal charges including criminal assault leveled against him by his ex-wife, a HVB employee who was deeply involved in the illegal transactions. In 2006 he was judged not guilty by reason of insanity, and as dangerous to the public; he was subsequently admitted to a hospital for the criminally insane. Mollath had refused to cooperate with the court's psychiatrist, who had taken Mollath's accusations against his wife and the HVB as evidence of a paranoid psychosis. |
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Mollath's supposed medical condition was in turn used as an argument as to why his allegations against the HVB should not be taken seriously. |
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The HypoVereinsbank made an audit report about the cases mentioned by him in letters addressed to the bank. The audit, signed in 2003, says that ''"all verifiable statements have been found to be accurate"'' <ref>"alle nachprüfbaren Behauptungen haben sich als zutreffend herausgestellt"</ref>. This audit was ordered by the Bavarian prosecution department in 2011, and received at the end of 2011. To this day, Beate Merk claims in interviews like the one made with Report Mainz, that the black money transfer charges and the private charges filed by his former wife are two unrelated cases and that he is in the forensic psychiatry for good reason and that ''"she has no doubt the case had been carried out ´by the book and quite correctly´"''.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/28/gustl-mollath-hsv-claims-fraud Kate Connolly: "German man locked up over HVB bank allegations may have been telling truth". Guardian Nov 28th, 2012]</ref> |
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==Case under review== |
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The audit report also contains a sentence mentioning that "it can not be excluded" that Gustl Mollath will approach the media with information <ref>(''"es ist nicht auszuschließen, dass Herr Mollath die Vorwürfe bezüglich des Transfers von Geldern von Deutschland in die Schweiz in die Öffentlichkeit bringt" - "it can not be excluded that Mr. Mollath will make public the allegations regarding transfers of monies from Germany to Switzerland"'' - see linked HypoVereinbank audit report PDF). </ref> |
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⚫ | As of 30 November 2012, Mollath's case is under review as a possible [[miscarriage of justice]] scandal following wide media coverage on the case, including ''[[Süddeutsche Zeitung]]'', ''[[Der Spiegel|SPIEGEL]]'', ''[[Die Welt|WELT]]'', and ''[[die Tageszeitung|taz (die tageszeitung)]]'', after his whistleblowing statements were belatedly found to be accurate. |
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It has since been revealed by the Süddeutsche Zeitung<ref>[http://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/vorwuerfe-gegen-hypovereinsbank-gustl-und-das-schwarzgeld-1.1522324]</ref> that the HVB had launched an internal audit after Mollath informed them long before he informed the prosecution authorities; the audit was completed in 2003 but no criminal charges were filed by HVB because the results were, according to a later explanation, "too vague", which in turn is considered a "grotesque downplay" by the Süddeutsche Zeitung. |
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There exists an affidavit, signed by a person whom Mollath's former wife told that she will "destroy" Gustl Mollath if he files charges against the Bank or her <ref>(mentioned by Report Mainz, in the linked report "Der Fall Gustl Mollath, see "Web Links" below. This sentence is, among others, also mentioned by the tagblatt [http://www.tagblatt.de/Home/nachrichten/ueberregional/politik_artikel,-Psychiatrie-Insasse-Mollath-wusste-von-Geschaeften-die-Richter-nicht-kennen-wollten-_arid,194008.html tagblatt: "Justizministerin unter Verdacht". Nov 15th, 2012] and by the Südwestrundfunk. [http://www.swr.de/report/-/id=233454/nid=233454/did=9021254/dulrzh/index.html Südwestrundfunk] (The quotation is: ''"Wenn Gustl meine Bank und mich anzeigt, mache ich ihn fertig. Dann zeige ich ihn auch an, das kannst du ihm sagen. Der ist doch irre, den lasse ich auf seinen Geisteszustand überprüfen, dann hänge ich ihm was an, ich weiß auch wie.")'' - Translation: ''"If Gustl presses charges against my bank and me, I will fuck him up. I will press charges against him too then, you can tell him that. He's crazy, I will have his mental condition checked, then I will get something to stick on him, and I know how."'') Additionally, the affidavit states that she said if her husband "keeps his trap shut", he could keep EUR 500 000 of his assets, and that the message should be passed on. [http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/gustl-mollath-und-die-hypovereinsbank-weggeraeumt-und-stillgestellt-a-868445.html SPIEGEL: Gustl Mollath und die HypoVereinsbank: Weggeräumt und stillgestellt. November 21st, 2012, article by Conny Neumann] </ref> |
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There is also an affidavit to the effect that Mollath's ex-wife had previously announced to others that she would "destroy" him if he blew the whistle on her or the HVB, including the threat of criminal charges and challenging his mental sanity. She allegedly also said he would get to keep 500,000 € if he remained silent.<ref>[http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/gustl-mollath-und-die-hypovereinsbank-weggeraeumt-und-stillgestellt-a-868445.html SPIEGEL: Gustl Mollath und die HypoVereinsbank: Weggeräumt und stillgestellt. November 21st, 2012, article by Conny Neumann]</ref> |
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The chronology page on the supporters web page (see Web Links below) also mentions training sessions for bank employees that he attended. These classes taught them how to urge bank clients into transferring untaxed assets to Switzerland. Following the audit report, some employees of the HypoVereinsbank were dismissed, including Mr. Mollath's former wife. As of November 2012, Gustl is still committed to the care of a hospital for the criminally insane in Bayreuth. |
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On November 27, the Nuremberg prosecutions department announced it would be reviewing Mollath's committal. The review will also examine the appropriateness of the duration that he has been hospitalized for. |
On November 27, the Nuremberg prosecutions department announced it would be reviewing Mollath's committal. The review will also examine the appropriateness of the duration that he has been hospitalized for. Mollath has been hospitalized in a mental institution since 2006. |
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== External links == |
== External links == |
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* [http://www.gustl-for-help.de/ ], web presence of Gustl Mollath and a support organisation dedicated to helping him regain his freedom and prove his allegations |
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- [http://www.gustl-for-help.de/chronos.html Chronology of the case Mollath], on the web page of Mollath supporters, it contains links to original pdf documents including the judgement/sentence 2006 and the charges filed by Mr. Mollath. The HypoVereinbank audit report is published by the Südwestrundfunk. |
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- [http://www.swr.de/report/-/id=10583092/property=download/nid=233454/1t395cp/index.pdf Direct link to the audit report of the HypoVereinsbank, 2003] |
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- [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip0XpKK7Oqg "Der Fall Gustl Mollath. Unschuldig in der Psychiatrie"] (Translation of the title: "The Case Gustl Mollath. Innocently in the Psychiatry.") Report Mainz/[http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARD ARD] - there is also a [http://www.swr.de/report/-/id=233454/nid=233454/did=9021254/dulrzh/index.html a direct link to "Der Fall Gustl Mollath" by Report Mainz on the page of the Südwestrundfunk/ARD]. It loads a bit slower, but wikipedia readers with fast computers might prefer this one. |
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- [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustl_Mollath German wikipedia page about the Gustl Mollath case] and an interesting [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diskussion:Gustl_Mollath article discussion], also on de.wikipedia.org |
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== Further links to German media reporting about this case == |
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- [http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/gustl-mollath-und-die-hypovereinsbank-weggeraeumt-und-stillgestellt-a-868445.html SPIEGEL 21.11.2012] |
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- [http://www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/fall-mollath-vom-richter-maltraetiert-und-provoziert-1.1531706 SZ/Süddeutsche Zeitung, 24.11.2012] |
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- see also the list of [http://www.gustl-for-help.de/medien.html media coverage on the supporters web page] |
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== Media Coverage in English == |
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- [http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/28/gustl-mollath-hsv-claims-fraud guardian, Nov 28th, 2012] |
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== Further References == |
== Further References == |
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<references/> |
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Revision as of 11:32, 11 December 2012
Gustl Mollath (born 7 November 1956) is a German whistleblower from Nuremberg who reported about 'black money' (i.e. untaxed, laundered etc. money) transfers from Germany to Switzerland, and was then admitted to a mental institution as criminally insane in a possible miscarriage of justice scandal.
Whistleblower
Anxious about his then-wife's business practice which he considered illegal, Mollath informed her employer, the HypoVereinsbank (HVB) first and later the public prosecution autorities. Despite a high level of detail including names and bank accounts, his allegations were initially dismissed by the public prosecution authorities as "too inaccurate" and "too generic",[1] and as paranoid rants. In 2004, tax authorities did not pursue the matter after a judge informed them of his opinion that Mollath was a confused person.[2]
Judged criminally insane
Mollath found himself tried for various criminal charges including criminal assault leveled against him by his ex-wife, a HVB employee who was deeply involved in the illegal transactions. In 2006 he was judged not guilty by reason of insanity, and as dangerous to the public; he was subsequently admitted to a hospital for the criminally insane. Mollath had refused to cooperate with the court's psychiatrist, who had taken Mollath's accusations against his wife and the HVB as evidence of a paranoid psychosis.
Mollath's supposed medical condition was in turn used as an argument as to why his allegations against the HVB should not be taken seriously.
Case under review
As of 30 November 2012, Mollath's case is under review as a possible miscarriage of justice scandal following wide media coverage on the case, including Süddeutsche Zeitung, SPIEGEL, WELT, and taz (die tageszeitung), after his whistleblowing statements were belatedly found to be accurate.
It has since been revealed by the Süddeutsche Zeitung[3] that the HVB had launched an internal audit after Mollath informed them long before he informed the prosecution authorities; the audit was completed in 2003 but no criminal charges were filed by HVB because the results were, according to a later explanation, "too vague", which in turn is considered a "grotesque downplay" by the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
There is also an affidavit to the effect that Mollath's ex-wife had previously announced to others that she would "destroy" him if he blew the whistle on her or the HVB, including the threat of criminal charges and challenging his mental sanity. She allegedly also said he would get to keep 500,000 € if he remained silent.[4]
On November 27, the Nuremberg prosecutions department announced it would be reviewing Mollath's committal. The review will also examine the appropriateness of the duration that he has been hospitalized for. Mollath has been hospitalized in a mental institution since 2006.
External links
- [3], web presence of Gustl Mollath and a support organisation dedicated to helping him regain his freedom and prove his allegations
Further References
<references>