| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : FEBRUARY 14, 2000 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| INTERNATIONAL -- EUROPEAN BUSINESS
Anatomy of a Scandal FEB. 1991: Karlheinz Schreiber, an arms dealer trying to secure the $223 million sale of 36 Thyssen ''Fuchs'' tanks to Saudi Arabia, asks CDU treasurer Walther Leisler Kiep in a letter to persuade Kohl to smooth the way for approval of deal. German security council approves it. AUG. 1991: Schreiber meets Kiep and CDU accountant Horst Weyrauch in Swiss town of St. Margethen and gives them a briefcase containing $500,000. The money is still unaccounted for. 1995: German prosecutors begin investigation into Schreiber business dealings. 1997: French investigators find that Elf-Aquitaine paid $50 million in bribes for its stake in the East German Leuna refinery. AUG. 31, 1999: Prosecutors issue arrest warrant for Schreiber--now living in Toronto--and ask Canadian officials to extradite him. NOV. 4-8, 1999: Prosecutors issue arrest warrant for Kiep, who hands himself in and is freed on bail. He says the $500,000 donation from Schreiber was put into CDU coffers. Kohl denies knowledge of Schreiber donation. NOV. 26, 1999: Former CDU campaign manager Heiner Geissler says Kohl ran secret accounts. Four days later, Kohl acknowledges that and admits to breaking party-financing laws. DEC. 16, 1999: Kohl admits to accepting up to $1 million in secret donations in the 1990s, using the money to fund party branches in East Germany. Prosecutors later launch criminal investigation into Kohl dealings. JAN. 14, 2000: Former Interior Minister and Hesse state CDU Chairman Manfred Kanther admits that the Hesse branch transferred about $4 million to Switzerland. Kanther later resigns. JAN. 18, 2000: CDU executive committee asks Kohl to resign post as honorary party chairman. Kohl steps down but keeps his seat in parliament. JAN. 20, 2000: CDU parliamentary accountant, Wolfgang Hullen commits suicide. In suicide note he admits to embezzling party funds. JAN. 23, 2000: German television reports that Francois Mitterand funneled $15 million through Elf-Aquitaine to Kohl for his 1994 reelection campaign. Kohl later calls report ''absurd.'' DATA: BUSINESS WEEK _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
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