GERMANY/FILE: German-Canadian former arms dealer Karlheinz Schreiber to eight years in prison for tax evasion

Record ID: 722192

  • Title: GERMANY/FILE: German-Canadian former arms dealer Karlheinz Schreiber to eight years in prison for tax evasion
  • Date: 6th May 2010
  • Summary: AUGSBURG, GERMANY (MAY 05, 2010) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF AUGSBURG DISTRICT COURT SIGN OUTSIDE REPORTERS, PHOTOGRAPHERS AND CAMERA CREWS WAITING FOR START OF TRIAL AUDIENCE SEATED FORMER ARMS DEALER, GERMAN-CANADIAN KARLHEINZ SCHREIBER ENTERING COURTROOM WITH DOCUMENTS IN HAND, SMILING AND SHAKING HANDS WITH HIS LAWYERS SCHREIBER REMOVING PAPER FROM HIS FOLDER AND TELLING PHOTOGRAPHERS "THANK YOU, I'M HAPPY TO SEE SO MANY FAMILIAR FACES" PAN FROM JUDGES TO SCHREIBER SITTING DOWN STATE PROSECUTORS SEATED AND TALKING TO EACH OTHER VARIOUS OF SCHREIBER TAKING NOTES SCHREIBER LOOKING ON AUDIENCE SEATED SCHREIBER SHOWING THUMBS UP SIGN / JUDGES SEATED HIGH SHOT OF REPORTERS IN HALLWAY CAMERAMAN FILMING (SOUNDBITE) (German) CHIEF SENIOR PROSECUTOR AT AUGSBURG DISTRICT COURT, REINHARD NEMETZ SAYING: "We saw a verdict which was very close to what the state prosecution demanded. The state prosecution is very happy with the verdict." HIGH SHOT OF REPORTERS IN HALLWAY SCHREIBER'S LAWYERS JAN OLAF LEISNER AND JENS BOSBACH SEEN THROUGH CAMERA VIEWFINDER (SOUNDBITE) (German) SCHREIBER'S LAWYER, JENS BOSBACH SAYING: "We will discuss the verdict with our client and for now, we believe that Mr. Schreiber will appeal against the verdict."
  • Embargoed: 21st May 2010 13:00
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  • Reuters ID: LVAE6PI8RBUHAZ2PMBCBOHIIGJF0
  • Story Text: A German court sentenced German-Canadian arms dealer Karlheinz Schreiber to eight years in prison on Wednesday (May 05) for tax evasion resulting from a corruption scandal that dates back to the 1990s.
    The Augsburg court convicted 76-year old Schreiber on six counts of tax evasion that occurred between 1988 and 1993.
    Schreiber was a key figure in a Christian Democratic Union (CDU) slush fund scandal which forced former CDU Chancellor Helmut Kohl, then honorary party leader, to resign after he admitted that he accepted illegal party donations.
    Wolfgang Schaeuble, now finance minister, also resigned his chairmanship of the CDU in 2000 after he admitted taking money for the party from Schreiber.
    In 2005, a German court found a former junior defence minister guilty of corruption after he admitted to receiving 2 million euros ($2.6 million) from Schreiber for deals.
    The resignations opened the way for Angela Merkel to become Germany's Chancellor. Schreiber's conviction closes the door on a sorted part of the CDU's past before regional elections this Sunday that will determine Merkel's hold on Germany's upper parliamentary house.
    Authorities first arrested Schreiber in 1999 in Toronto. The arms dealer fought extradition back to Germany for ten years before returning to Munich to face charges last year.
    The chief senior prosecutor at Augsburg district court, Reinhard Nemetz expressed satisfaction about the verdict, telling reporters "the state prosecution is very happy."
    One of Schreiber's lawyers, Jens Bosbach said he expected his client to appeal against the verdict.
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