Because no amount is ever enough

A cautionary tale from our Austrian neighbours:

The sunny boy of the Austrian Government, ex-finance minister Karl-Heinz Grasser, and others are on trial accused of corruption, bribery and embezzlement in one of the biggest corruption cases in Austria‘s history. Karl-Heinz Grasser and 15 former high-ranking politicians, managers, lawyers and bankers are charged in this case, one of many to come, in connection with crimes concerning the privatization of state housing company Buwog in 2004.

With allegations of a huge amount of criminal energy that investigators have summarised an 800 page indictment after an eight years investigation, one could assume that this is definitely not the first waltz of those accused. This alleged behaviour can only be the culmination of years of gaming the system. People cannot be so adept at malfeasance of this nature, involving embezzlement, bribes, cronyism, nepotism, kickbacks and a huge amount of self-enrichment, if one has not had a lot of past practice.

The Austrian press has called them a band of modern-day robber barons with close links to the government, working out of offices and law firms in the centre of Vienna, swindled the state out of billions of euros. One expects at least lawyers to have some honesty!

The Buwog story is this:

The privatised flats were sold for about €961 million in Austria's biggest-ever privatization. At the time, Grasser was finance minister in a centre-right government.

About €9.6 million - one percent  of the price - was paid in "commission" to the two lobbyists Walter Meischberger and Peter Hochegger.

This money was said to have been channelled via Cyprus to three accounts in Liechtenstein.  Part of it is suspected to have come back to Grasser himself.

Grasser is the most frequently named person in various corruption inquiries. According to the newspaper Österreich, Grasser is also expected to be prosecuted / sued for other misdeeds as well.

So why would the sunny boy of Austrian Government, good looking, respected, intelligent, incredibly popular, married to one of the world’s most beautiful and premier heiresses (Fiona Swarovski), moving in the highest social circles, risk all of this for a few million in kickbacks?

Supposition: Perhaps for some people with flawed characters, beneath their cleverly nurtured façade hides a moral depravity, and the belief that they are too clever to get caught and that no amount received or embezzled is ever enough.

Listen for the echo!