In addition to previous revelations about RaFa, the convicted criminal chosen by Bundesdruckerei (BDR) as its representative in Venezuela, Der Spiegel increases the pressure today with an article that questions Germany’s stance on this matter. As the subtitle states, “However, the Ministry of Finance, responsible for the corporation, does not intervene,” it seems that the German Ministry of Finance, the authority overseeing BDR’s compliance as a state-owned enterprise with specific regulations, simply does not care about RaFa’s questionable past, associations, and practices.
What does this say about Ms. Merkel’s government? Is this another case of “we’re all in this together”? When faced with such damning evidence of corruption, misconduct, and a lack of credentials and criminal background, as Der Spiegel journalists apparently presented to the German Finance Ministry authorities, how is it that they did not intervene? Is the prospect of making business with the Chavista revolution so attractive that the German government behaves in such a disgraceful manner?
Since I am quoted in the article, I requested comments from officials at the Ministry of Finance, which I will publish here once I receive them.
UPDATE April 16, 2014, 10:36 GMT: Before the publication of this story, I spoke with Jörg Schmitt, a journalist from Der Spiegel. We shared information about RaFa, his criminal past, and his new role as BDR’s representative in Venezuela. For any journalist, such an appointment is scandalous, to say the least, especially considering that BDR is owned by the German state. Schmitt sent a series of questions to the Bundesfinanzministerium (German Ministry of Finance) asking:
– When was the contract of the current CEO of BDR approved, and when was this appointment approved by the Supervisory Board of the Ministry of Finance?
– Was the Ministry of Finance aware that, prior to the raid on BDR’s offices caused by Mr. Baumgartl’s irregularities in business dealings with Venezuela, the law firm Erbe Partners from Potsdam prepared Mr. Baumgartl for a possible interrogation?
– In light of the previous question, does it know that representatives from Erbe told BDR staff how to behave during a possible search by investigating authorities?
– Is the Ministry of Finance aware of who BDR’s commercial representative in Venezuela has been since 2012?
The previous set of questions was answered in the typical language of public officials: evade, dodge a little more, obfuscate, cite some irrelevant law, but never actually answer the question. Meanwhile, the Bundesrepublik, heavily promoted for its transparency, has quite a few bureaucrats who simply refuse to be held accountable, and Herr Schmitt encountered one of them at the Ministry of Finance. It is extremely concerning to think that a law firm might have known in advance and informed/prepared BDR staff before a police raid took place.
But the most puzzling aspect is a sentence in the responses provided to Schmitt, which he kindly shared with me. The Ministry of Finance stated:
«Themen von Aufsichtsratssitzungen unterliegen der Vertraulichkeit».
This means: matters related to BDR’s supervisory board are confidential. How can the affairs of the meetings of a public supervisory board regarding a state-owned enterprise be confidential? Isn’t this board supposed to represent the interests of the German state through the Ministry of Finance? How can they claim confidentiality regarding matters related to the functioning of a public company supervised by public officials?
I had to read that again to make sure I understood. I went back to Schmitt for confirmation. Seriously, is this the Germany we’re talking about or Chavista Venezuela? No wonder BDR has RaFa as its Venezuelan representative; he must feel right at home. And it got even worse: the demand from the Ministry of Finance stated that issues related to BDR’s business abroad, representatives, operational aspects, etc., fall within BDR’s scope and discretion, and do not concern its sole shareholder. That’s right. In Germany, the operations of public companies are not part of the responsibilities of the German state. Just like PDVSA in Venezuela. The business world would do well to learn this policy.
To start with, the Supervisory Board of the Ministry of Finance, which is the “independent” body responsible for overseeing what BDR does, has a member whose history reveals the whole game: August Hanning. Herr Hanning is known as the man behind post-modern secret service in Germany. So let me explain: Mister Sicherheit of Deutschland sits on the board tasked with supervising BDR. Is it any wonder how Baumgartl from BDR found out that a raid was coming? In yet another installment of the series #youcantmakethisshitup, Hanning’s boss, for many years before joining BDR’s Supervisory Board, was former Finance Minister and CDU leader Wolfgang Schäuble, the same one who said he was “pleased” with the ICIJ’s expose on offshore companies avoiding taxes. BDR is the proverbial example of a German company using fictitious offshore entities to evade taxes and engage in corruption in other countries, as shown by the findings of Jörg Baumgartl’s activities at BDR. Then German officials walk around pontificating… What a mess this is.