The Austrian media reports that police are looking in to the accounts of 14 members of former Croatian PM Ivo Sanader’s family. Under investigation are accounts located in Austria, Lichtenstein, Switzerland and the USA. At least one of the frozen accounts is in an unnamed Austrian bank, expectedly the Hypo.
Newsrooms in Austria are buzzing about Ivo Sanader’s secret accounts, which were frozen by Interpol, and the media are looking at Sanader as key witness in the Hypo affair.
The frozen accounts are reported to house a total €1.2 million, a truly remarkable sum for one to amass with a PM’s salary. Furthermore, one of the accounts is that of Sanader’s late father, a blue collar man throughout his life. The late Sanader succeeded in storing away several hundreds of thousands of euro.
The former PM’s troubles don’t end here, as authorities continue to freeze his known assets, as well as those hidden away. In Austria, Sanader is seen as a key witness in the investigation in the Hypo Bank, a national baking fiasco that has cost the state hundreds of millions of euro.
A Carinthian parliamentary committee in charge of the Hypo investigation has decided to act while Sanader remains in custody in Salzburg awaiting extradition. The committee has submitted a request to question the former Croatian PM in regards to his alleged ties to the bank. December 22nd has been mentioned as a possible date for the hearing to take place.
