At the invitation of Greiter Pegger Kofler & Partners, on May 13, 2015, Mag. Walter Geyer held a presentation at Innsbruck’s Grand Hotel Europa titled “Bonus or Prison Bars – Managers’ Decisions under the Scrutiny of the Public Prosecutor”.
Mag. Geyer was the first Director of the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Economic and Corruption Crimes in Vienna from 2009 to 2012.
He explained to the more than 120 participants, mainly Tyrolean entrepreneurs, which activities are risky from a criminal law point of view and how the risk of criminal prosecution can be avoided.
Tracking down cases of corruption often proves difficult, given the “common interest” of many to cover up facts as well as the lack of witnesses. Also, it is not always easy to differentiate between intentional wrongdoing and simple business failure.
Business accounts or records that are not kept in a proper manner or unusually risky business transactions often draw the attention of the Public Prosecutor.
The consequence of agreements made prior to tendering procedures will always be criminal prosecution. Police searches of premises following a suspicion of such agreements have always resulted in evidence being found.
According to the statute on the responsibility of legal entities, a company can also be criminally sentenced. A conviction under this statute leads to an entry in the company’s criminal record. Convicted companies run the risk that such an entry may mean they do not receive further orders.
The speaker captivated the audience with numerous accounts from his many years of experience, for example with the tale of a 6 year old Chinese girl, whose aim it was to become a “corrupt official”!
Kronen Zeitung (Print Version 15 Mai 2015)
