Karlheinz Schreiber

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Karlheinz Schreiber (1934-) is a German-born lobbyist, fundraiser, arms dealer and businessman. He is chiefly known for his alleged role in the 1999 CDU contributions scandal in Germany, which damaged the political legacy of Helmut Kohl, and the Airbus affair in Canada which was linked through allegation to former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.

[edit] Early career

Schreiber began his career working for the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) or West German intelligence service. After leaving the agency he became an international arms dealer, lobbyist, and deal maker. He was a fundraiser for the Christian Democratic Party and Christian Social Union in West Germany during Helmut Kohl's chancellorship and was a figure in the party financing scandal that erupted in 1999 discrediting Kohl's political legacy.

[edit] Role in Canada

He was a key figure in Canada's Airbus affair in which he was alleged to have arranged secret commissions to be paid to Brian Mulroney and lobbyist Frank Moores in exchange for then Crown corporation Air Canada's purchase of Airbus jets. Schreiber did make cash payments to Brian Mulroney shortly after Mulroney's departure from politics. Schreiber had previously been a key fundraiser in Mulroney's successful campaign to win the leadership of the Progressive Conservative party in 1983.

Since 1999 the Canadian resident has fought extradition to his native Germany due to allegations of fraud, bribery and failure to pay $20 million in taxes to the German government on commissions related to sales in the 1980s of Airbus jets. ^[1]

In October 2004, Canadian Justice Minister Irwin Cotler ordered Schreiber to surrender himself to German authorities. ^[2] Schreiber, however, remains in Canada pending the exhaustion of his appeals.

Karlheinz Schreiber's career in Canada is reviewed in the 2001 book by Stevie Cameron and Harvey Cashore, The Last Amigo: Karlheinz Schreiber and the Anatomy of a Scandal.

On February 1, 2007, the Supreme Court of Canada accepted the extradition to his native Germany, where he will be facing accusations on the counts of corruption and fraud.

On March 24, 2007, he filed suit in the Ontario Superior Court against Brian Mulroney for services not rendered. He alleges that Mulroney agreed to aid in the building of a factory to make light armoured vehicles in Quebec. Schreiber alleges that he made a $300,000 payment in cash over a decade ago, in 1993/1994, and that Mulroney never held up his end of the bargain.