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Austria holds up Russia sanctions over Raiffeisen bailout, ex-top Foreign Ministry official charged over Novichok doc leak and Benko gets two years

Austria holds up Russia sanctions over Raiffeisen bailout, ex-top Foreign Ministry official charged over Novichok doc leak and Benko gets two years

Welcome to the new Alpine Security Monitor! This week, all attention is on the meeting today in the White House between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and American President Donald Trump. Zelensky is desperately seeking Tomahawk cruise missiles that can reach deep into Russia while Trump, having not received the Nobel Peace Prize last Friday, is looking to wrap up Russia's war on Ukraine for purely selfish purposes and that's better than the alternatives. 

If Zelensky succeeds in his mission later today, it will be the first signal that when it comes to Russia, Trump recognizes the leverage he has. It is a coming of age tale of sorts: democratically elected Western autocrat preens in admiration of dictators while being servile before growing old and recognizing that in front of the leader of a country where power and might are the only effective language, strength might be the way to go to achieve any measurement of effect. Russia, if you're listening…

Not so fast, though. Yesterday, Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a lengthy kibbitz and decided to meet, again without Zelensky or certainly not advertised as a confab with the Ukrainian leader, in Budapest. That's right, Europe's autocratic balcony onto Russia. While not quite Belarus, Russia's balcony onto Europe, the fact is modern Hungary is a quasi-indictment of the old European ways of handel durch wandel, or trade makes change. Turns out trade just makes people richer and with more material wealth they might grow greedy and desire to expand their fiefdom, kingdom or add new wings to palaces or real estate in Florida or Monaco or wherever to their portfolios. 

In local news, Bern had an antisemitic riot last Saturday. The Alpine Security wrote up an incident report detailing the influences and radicalizing forces on those involved, which in fact is not so unique to Bern but a pattern observable certainly elsewhere across Europe. The report was shared for free by email with all subscribers but is now paywalled on the site. This was to give a taste of some of the premium content to come and hopefully inspire some to convert to paid subscribers to have access to this premium content in the future. Never let a crisis go to waste!  

Welcome to the new Alpine Security Monitor! Now with a new, currently low-follower Instagram account @alpinesecuritymonitor which will not get up and running until there's a critical mass. You can subscribe (and become a paid subscriber!) for weekly updates on security and geopolitics as it concerns the Alpine region, namely Austria, Czechia, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland (ok, little Liechtenstein and Monaco too when merited). If this was forwarded to you, welcome!

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – Austrian bank bail out holds up fresh Russia sanctions package

  • Euobserver reports the latest, nineteenth round of EU sanctions against Russia was held up Wednesday in the EU Council as Vienna tries to "hold out for a 'derogation' to let Austria bail out Raiffeisen Bank International", which has been unable to divest from Russia and wants to use "EU-frozen Russian money" to do so.
  • The backstory: Russia will not let Raiffeisen Bank divest from the country as it, along with Italy's UniCredit, remain among the very last Western banks doing business in the country. In essense, it's a hostage situation – and to alleviate itself, Austria has taken EU sanctions against Russia hostage.
  • But it is not just the Austrians causing difficulties when it comes to a fresh round of sanctions against Russia: "Slovakia also kept a 'reserve' on Russia, but on unrelated car-industry grounds."

 

VIENNA, AUSTRIA – Ex-Foreign Ministry top official charged in Novichok document leak

  • Agence France Presse reports Austrian prosecutors filed charges against Johannes Peterlik Thursday, the former top official in the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2018 until 2020, for "leaking confidential documents" connected to the March 2018 Novichok poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.
  • Prosecutors filed charges against Peterlik for "abuse of official authority and breach of confidentiality." Peterlik had requested "without official necessity" the classified October 2018 report by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) "that included the formula for Novichok". Peterlik allegedly showed the documents to Egisto Ott, a former police officer who "was charged in August over spying for Russia."
  • While no date for the trial has been set yet, Peterlik can still contest the charges and faces five years in prison if found guilty. The case against him "stems from investigations into massive fraud at German company Wirecard."

 

INNSBRUCK, AUSTRIA –Real estate tycoon René Benko sentenced to two years in prison

  • Deutsche Welle reports that René Benko, the founder of collapsed real estate empire Signa, was sentenced Wednesday to two years in prison after "he tried to hide cash from duped investors".
  • The Financial Times reports that during the two-day personal insolvency criminal trial which began Tuesday in Innsbruck, Austria, Benko stood accused "of concealing assets and diverting funds worth almost €660,000", or $763,000. He did so "to the detriment of creditors" and faced "up to 10 years in prison if convicted".
  • The case against Benko personally is "part of a wider investigation in the failure of Signa". The real estate company collapsed after having borrowed €15 billion from "banks, sovereign wealth funds and family offices", and "its implosion" is considered "one of the most dramatic in European corporate history." He has 14 cases against him pending, with most of the charges revolving "around fraud and breach of trust."

 

PARIS, FRANCE – Lecornu reappointed as Prime Minister just after resigning

  • The Guardian reports Sébastien Lecornu was reappointed Prime Minister by French President Emmanuel Macron just days after resigning last Friday.
  • While Lecornu's first crack at the job saw the government collapse within 14 hours, "Lecornu said he accepted returning to the role 'out of duty'". Lecornu previously served as defense minister and was the third prime minister in one year.
  • "The unprecedented move" comes as France faces a "worsening political crisis" and Macron faces "the worst domestic crisis since he first won the presidency in 2017."

 

BERLIN, GERMANY – Plans for conscription lottery derailed by Defense Minister Pistorius

  • Politico reports German plans to institute conscription by lottery stalled late Tuesday over last minute objections from Finance Minister Boris Pistorius.
  • Over the last week, Christian Democrats and Socialist Democrats in the Bundestag finalized "a compromise to revive military service under the Defense Service Modernization Act" but "the deal was halted after Pistorius expressed concerns over key aspects" during a Tuesday night parliamentary meeting of the Social Democrats.
  • Pistorius' "surprise" objections delays the bill which parliament had planned to introduce for debate this week. It is now "unclear when – or if – the government will move ahead with the revised version."

 

BELLINZONA, SWITZERLAND – Swiss deepen 'bilateral and multilateral' ties with China

  • Chinese state-run Xinhua News reports "China and Switzerland issued a joint document" last Friday that outlines "a wide range of consensus on deepening bilateral and multilateral cooperation and advancing their strategic partnership" in Bellinzona, Switzerland.
  • The Italian speaking city in southern Switzerland was the backdrop for "the fourth round of China-Switzerland Foreign Ministers' Strategic Dialogue" which was attended by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Ye on the invitation of Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis.
  • "The next round of such dialogue will be held in China," but no announcement as to where or when.

 

BERN, SWITZERLAND – Swiss Attorney General: More than 140 open terror cases

  • Swissinfo reports the Swiss Attorney General Stefan Blättler told the Sunday edition of tabloid SonntagsBlick that there are currently 140 open cases of terrorism-related offenses in Switzerland, up 20 from the start of this year.
  • Blättler said many of the cases involve young adults and that "There's no single mafia," but noted "Where interests overlap, networks form."
  • The Attorney General portrayed his office as resource-strapped ("Don't expect us to act if we're short on 'ammunition',") and warned Switzerland could face a dilemma similar to Sweden in "the next ten to fifteen years if no action is taken." Meaning "criminal gangs have taken root in the Scandinavian country" and "crimes such as drugs and arms trafficking, human trafficking and social insurance fraud have risen sharply." Authorities in Sweden have labeled organized crime a "systemic threat".

 

BERN, SWITZERLAND – 18 police officers injured in violent 'pro-Palestine' riot

  • Reuters reports "Eighteen police officers and several people were injured"  after thousands took to the streets of the Swiss capital in front of the railway station in an unauthorized demonstration in support of Palestine last Saturday.
  • Despite a cease fire coming into effect a few days prior between Hamas and Israel, the demonstration "against Israel's war in Gaza" turned violent "when police tried to restrict the movement of the protesters, who were throwing objects and bricks".
  • In the aftermath, there was property damage totaling millions of francs. For real cringe, there was a social media influencer named Tobi who, in a nod to his peers at Columbia University in spring of 2024, wanted humanitarian aid after a certain hour. Read the full Alpine Security Monitor incident report (for paid subscribers; upgrade to paid).

 

LA VALLETTA BRIANZA, ITALY – 21 nuns escape fire engulfing their 400-year-old monastery

  • The New York Post reports "A flock of cloistered nuns escaped their nearly 400-year-old Italian monastery" as it was engulfed in flames last Saturday in La Valletta Brianza.
  • Two of the nuns required hospitalization while the others were shuttled to another religious facility "for temporary housing."
  • The monastery was opened in 1628 and "is where the recently anointed Saint Carlo Acutis received his First Communion". While "The exact extent of the damage is unclear," there is "serious damage to the structure where premium paintings were kept" and many things are "unsalvageable." The BBC has footage.

 

And finally this week….

 

VATICAN CITY – Man desecrates altar as tourists 'look on in disgust'

  • The New York Post reports an "unidentified man" urinated on an altar at St. Peter's Basilica during 9:00 am Holy Mass in the Vatican last Friday "as hundreds of tourists looked on in disgust".
  • The man scaled the steps of the Altar of Confession and began to urinate "in a spot where the sitting pope typically performs mass." The Post notes, "it's unclear if the pope was leading the proceedings" but "the altar where the pope delivers mass is a frequent target of attack." Previous incidents include a man who "knocked six candelabras to the ground" in February and a naked Polish man with "Save children of Ukraine" scrawled on his back in June 2023.
  • Corriere della Serra reports the man was quickly escorted away by police but not before mooning the audience as he bent down to pull up his jeans when officers approached.

 

Stay safe and Tomahawks for Ukraine!

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