Case Studies

An Austrian-based trading company faced charges by the Austrian authorities that subsequently led to a lawsuit. The company had been dealing with distributors in a post-Soviet country that worked with a highly non-transparent offshore company structure. As a result, the Austrian company was accused of tax evasion and money laundering practices.

The company approached L&M PRISK for an expert opinion on its business practices relating to the political and business environment of the post-Soviet country. Applying our exclusive in-depth know-how of the country and Dr. Hannes Meissner’s academic research expertise, we delivered a detailed written statement on very specific topics, following the usual structure of expert opinions.

Our expert opinion provided the judge with a more comprehensive understanding of the constellation the company was confronted with in the given country. Although the company was ultimately sentenced because its actions were grossly negligent, our expert opinion led to a significant reduction of the penalty. In a further step, L&M PRISK revised the company’s business strategies in the post-Soviet country and introduced a best practice concept including a check-list for fulfilling due diligence obligations in future.

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In another case, Dr. Hannes Meissner was commissioned as a country expert on political risks in the course of an investor-state arbitration at the ICSID in Washington.