June 17, 2016
An Austrian bank owned by a prominent Jewish businessman has been accused of massive fraud and money laundering in Ukraine. Meinl Bank is owned by Julius Meinl, 56, who in 2014 was elected president of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress, one of five regional affiliates of the World Jewish Congress.
According to Ukrainian police investigators, the bank defrauded Ukraine out of more than $750 million between 2011 and 2015 and laundered the money for use in the EU. The case was exposed by the Ukrainian news website Glavcom last week. In response to the allegations, Meinl Bank spokesperson Thomas Huemer told JTA in an email that the bank “does not comment on rumors. The bank reiterates that all its activities are undertaken within the framework of all relevant laws and regulations.” The bank, he added, “strongly rejects any allegation of wrongdoing.”