Serious investment fraud

Millions scandal involving top Viennese tax advisor

More than two dozen clients are said to have suffered damage as a result of the questionable transactions carried out by the top tax advisor.(Bild: APA/HANS KLAUS TECHT)

The Public Prosecutor's Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption (WKStA) is investigating a respected Viennese tax advisor and auditor who is alleged to have embezzled millions in client funds while acting as an asset manager. Ultimately, he was unable to withstand the mounting pressure and confessed to a client: "Then I'll just go to jail."

The Viennese man ultimately set the ball rolling on the thriller surrounding the embezzled millions himself: at the end of May 2025, he voluntarily reported himself to the Vienna State Criminal Investigation Office (LKA). He told the officials that he had "destroyed his life's work, which he had built up over many years."

Opaque business dealings in the Bahamas
As an asset manager, he operated various investment models. He invested his clients' money in a collective deposit account at a bank and promised high returns. In addition to supposedly safe pension investments, he also had shares in a dubious company in the Bahamas in his portfolio.

When the portfolio performed poorly and incurred losses, the accused was no longer able to meet the promised guarantees and payouts for his clients. Instead, he allegedly began to "restructure" funds and offset due payments with third-party funds – using the so-called "hole-for-hole" method.

More than two dozen clients are said to have suffered damage as a result of the top tax advisor's questionable transactions.(Bild: APA/HANS KLAUS TECHT)

Funds were missing, profits were faked
The top tax advisor tried to reassure those affected with all kinds of excuses: alleged changes in the law, trouble with the Financial Market Authority (FMA), or long-term consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. The Viennese man even cited Donald Trump as the supposed reason for the missing funds. In some reports, profits were faked so that clients would leave their money in the portfolio. In some cases, there were further transfers or even cash handovers.

One victim had handed over €400,000 to the tax advisor for investment. She was promised a return of ten percent. She "blindly trusted" the man, the victim stated in her police interview. The nature of the investment seemed strange from the outset. The money was to be brought to the office in cash, and a lawyer would allegedly take it to Switzerland, where a banker would then invest it in the Bahamas.

Then I'll just go to jail.

Der verdächtige Spitzen-Steueberater zu seiner Kundin

To the horror of the investors concerned, they had actually opted for safe investments – not risky ones. Rather, they were interested in conservative investments. One of the models offered by the accused was designed to be like a pension account. Customers paid in large sums of money in order to receive binding payouts including returns at a later date. However, from April 2025 onwards, these payments failed to materialize – apparently there were no more funds available.

Confession to the customer
Finally, the suspect was apparently unable to withstand the pressure any longer: during a meeting with a customer, the tax advisor confessed, according to her statement, that the money was gone. He was aware that he would be reported to the authorities. He is quoted as saying, "Then I'll just go to jail." 

During the investigation, the accused allegedly explained that he had recently been unable to work due to serious health problems. However, this is contradicted by eyewitness reports, according to which the accused appeared to be in good health at the Reichenau Festival.

1.5 million euros transferred to relatives
When the impending disaster became apparent in January 2025 and it became clear that there was no longer enough money to satisfy all creditors, the tax advisor is said to have transferred €1.5 million to relatives who had also invested with him. The WKStA must now examine whether this was done with the intention of harming the interests of other creditors.