Twist in the case of the missing Tengelmann billionaire

Around six months after the headlines about photos allegedly showing Tengelmann billionaire Karl-Erivan Haub in Moscow, the case takes a spectacular turn: RTL talks to a contemporary witness who claims that German authorities were aware of the Haub family's dubious connections to Russia.

What happened on that cold spring morning, April 7, 2018, at the foot of the Matterhorn? Where did the billionaire CEO of the Tengelmann Group disappear to shortly after a surveillance camera at the Klein Matterhorn mountain station recorded him for the last time at 09:09?

Initially, a large contingent of mountain rescuers and private security personnel searched for the experienced alpinist in the crevasses throughout the ski area. But just seven days after his disappearance, a completely different conclusion was reached internally: a mountain accident was only 5 percent likely, 90 percent of the time Karl-Erivan Haub, known as Charlie, had "disappeared" on purpose. The probability of a criminal background was 4 percent and suicide 1 percent. This is what it says in the internal files of Tengelmann's corporate security department, which RTL/ntv/STERN was the first media outlet to have access to on a large scale.

Just a few months later, in June 2018, private investigators were already looking for the missing man in Russia, shadowing suspected contacts on the ground, including a young woman, Veronika E. She would later be assigned to the Russian secret service. This is also stated in the internal Tengelmann investigation reports, which are classified as secret. Some time after the disappearance, the American secret services, the FBI and CIA, also began investigations in Zermatt and questioned the internal Tengelmann investigators about what they knew. The internal Tengelmann investigators concluded that Haub, who also had American citizenship, had apparently been targeted by the American authorities due to his Russian connections. This is also in the files.

"Certain events"

However, the German authorities seem to have little interest in the mysterious disappearance. The question is whether Christian Haub, Karl-Erivan's youngest brother and current company boss, had knowledge of the traces to Russia and, in particular, whether he was aware of the pictures that presumably show his brother.

On RTL, a contemporary witness speaks for the first time, saying: "The authorities knew about it, but there was no approach to conduct further investigations." The man, who speaks anonymously in front of the camera, worked closely with Karl-Erivan Haub for years. Internal Tengelmann investigations had already been carried out before 2010, as a person from the Russian mafia was said to have emerged with a general power of attorney from the middle Haub brother, Georg. The former JP Morgan banker Francisco Guadamillas Cortes is said to have links not only to the St. Petersburg mafia and Vladimir Putin, but also to Colombian drug cartels.

At this point, the witness's accounts coincide with the internal Tengelmann files available to RTL/ntv/STERN. According to the witness, the German authorities, namely the BKA and the BND, were also contacted at the time to assess the threat situation. The authorities were aware of the threat, but apparently did nothing about it. "But at the latest after Karl-Erivan's disappearance, these investigations should have been started," the witness told RTL. But, Karl-Erivan Haub's confidant continued, the Russian business was purely a matter for the boss anyway. "Nothing" was known about the Russian business partners and "nothing was researched or investigated." From today's perspective, after everything that is now known, he cannot explain this.

"In my opinion, this entire process should obviously be completed. Both in an economic sense and in a political sense, so as not to have to continue any investigations. That's the only explanation I have." We cannot verify whether this explanation is correct. But what could be being concealed here? Where does the trail lead? "In order not to present certain processes transparently to the public. You don't always want that. Economic and political interests come together when it comes to German-Russian relations. As far as economic interests and the general political situation are concerned. Maybe that's not what you want."

In purely legal terms, Karl-Erivan Haub may have been declared dead in the meantime. For journalists, however, the search for the missing Tengelmann boss continues.

You can see the entire interview with the contemporary witness on RTL Extra this Tuesday at 22:35 and from Wednesday for seven days on RTL+.

The 90-minute documentary "Tengelmann - The mysterious disappearance of the billionaire" is also available on RTL+.

The Podimo podcast "Die Akte Tengelmann - Ein Milliardär verschwindet" is also available on RTL+.