Ex-Meinl Bank CEO Faces Extradition for Odebrecht Money Laundering Charges

Peter Weinzierl, former CEO of Meinl Bank, can be extradited to the U.S. on money laundering charges linked to Odebrecht. London's High Court approved his extradition despite his claims of being 'lured' to the UK. Weinzierl's appeal was dismissed, focusing on charges of fraud and bribery.

In a significant legal development, London's High Court ruled in favor of extraditing Peter Weinzierl, the former CEO of an Austrian bank, to the United States. The charges against Weinzierl are linked to money laundering activities involving the Brazilian construction giant, Odebrecht. This decision comes amid allegations that Weinzierl was unwittingly brought to the UK for arrest purposes in 2021.

At 59, Weinzierl denied these serious allegations, arguing that his extradition lacked legal basis as he was allegedly 'lured' by a U.S. law enforcement agent to Britain. Nevertheless, his resistance to the extradition was mostly rebuffed, as the High Court ruled against considering his case a matter of general law importance necessary for moving to the UK's Supreme Court.

Weinzierl faces a suite of charges in New York associated with his purported involvement in a complex fraud and bribery scheme tied to Odebrecht, also known as Novonor SA post-2020. The construction company acknowledged distributing bribes strategically across Latin America, culminating in a massive $3.5 billion settlement with international authorities in 2016.

(With inputs from agencies.)