German man locked up over HVB bank allegations may have been telling truth
German man locked up over HVB bank allegations may have been telling truth
Gustl Mollath was put in a psychiatric unit for claiming his wife was involved in money-laundering at the Bavarian bank. But seven years on evidence has emerged that could set him free
Horst Seehofer, the prime minister of Bavaria, has called for Gustl Mollath's case to be reopened. Photograph: Pawel Kopczynski/Reuters
A German man committed to a high-security psychiatric hospital after being accused of fabricating a story of money-laundering activities at a major bank is to have his case reviewed after evidence has emerged proving the validity of his claims.
In a plot worthy of a crime blockbuster, Gustl Mollath, 56, was submitted to the secure unit of a psychiatric hospital seven years ago after court experts diagnosed him with paranoid personality disorder following his claims that staff at the Hypo Vereinsbank (HVB) – including his wife, then an assets consultant at HVB – had been illegally smuggling large sums of money into Switzerland.
Mollath was tried in 2006 after his ex-wife accused him of causing her physical harm. He denied the charges, claiming she was trying to sully his name in the light of the evidence he allegedly had against her. He was admitted to the clinic, where he has remained against his will ever since.
But recent evidence brought to the attention of state prosecutors shows that money-laundering activities were indeed practiced over several years by members of staff at the Munich-based bank, the sixth-largest private financial institute in Germany, as detailed in an internal audit report carried out by the bank in 2003. The report, which has now been posted online, detailed illegal activities including money-laundering and aiding tax evasion. A number of employees, including Mollath's wife, were subsequently sacked following the bank's investigation.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/28/gustl-mollath-hsv-claims-fraud
= new reply since forum marked as read
while carrying out their dirty business.
The wife, now married to a former colleague at the bank who was also involved in the money laundering scheme, is now offering another form of cleansing:
[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#dcdcdc; padding-bottom:5px; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-bottom:none; border-radius:0.4615em 0.4615em 0em 0em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]Petra Maske / About me / My life:[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#f0f0f0; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-top:none; border-radius:0em 0em 0.4615em 0.4615em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]The time with the bank was instructive for me. I experienced how important it is for our body, our spirit, and our soul to be in harmony, so we can meet the challenges of job, family and partnership with calmness.
This led to my encounter with Reiki and I began with meditation training. My interest was aroused, and shortly thereafter I completed a ghost healing program.
There had been two alleged incidents of violence, both of which he denies.
1. Beating and biting during an altercation with his wife which allegedly took place in August 2001.
2. Slashing of various car tires - between December 2004 and February 2005. There is no direct evidence that Mollath had anything to do with this.
The wife waits to press charges for the beating until January 2003. Shortly before the trial (September 2003) her attorney alleges that Mollath is mentally ill. The court decides to defer judgement pending a psychiatric evalution.
A forensic-psychiatric report finds in July 2005 that "the accused has developed a paranoid thought system". His paranoid thoughts, according to the report, center around a "complex illegal money transfer system" in which his wife is involved. (The patient has never been examined in person by the author of this psychiatric report.)
The case is transferred to a state court (Landgericht).
In August 2006, the state court finds that the accused has probably committed the violent acts but is not criminally responsible due to psychological dysfunctions. Since his "increasing aggressivity" (first the beating in 2001, then the tire slashing in 2005) constitutes a danger to public safety, the court orders commitment to a psychiatric institution.
So, technically, the court did indeed lock him up based on its finding that he was a danger to the general public. That's because a court cannot commit somebody for any other reason. But, even if you assume for a second that he actually may have committed these violent acts, is one incident of beating your wife and slashing some car tires several years later really a reason to lock someone up indefinitely?
If he had been found guilty and criminally responsible for these acts, his maximum sentence would have been 2 years on probation or something like that. Only in combination with his alleged "paranoid thoughts", which now have been found to be very much based on reality, his alleged misconduct could possibly have led to the extreme punishment exerted.
Since this scandal broke, a vast number of articles have been published about it. A small number of them still tries to somehow salvage the criminal behavior of the judge involved (he is actually part of the conspiracy, the "paranoid thought system"
, pointing out that Mollath is a kook ("He even wrote a letter to the pope!!1! How insane is that??" .
Some documentation, only in German, though, sorry.
Mollath during statement in church
(- in favor of students protesting the Iraq war, March 2003)
ARD Interview with Mollath
Mollath explaining his situation (6 parts)
Chronology in Süddeutsche Zeitung
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/chronologie-zum-fall-gustl-mollath-schwierige-suche-nach-der-wahrheit-1.1542305
Chronology at Bayerischer Rundfunk
http://www.br.de/nachrichten/mittelfranken/gustl-mollath-chronologie-100.html
Chronology by Mollath supporters
http://www.gustl-for-help.de/chronos.html
Series of articles at Telepolis
http://www.heise.de/tp/artikel/39/39181/1.html
