Martin Schlaff

Martin Schlaff is an influential Austrian billionaire who has been active on the Israeli political scene.

Friends in High Places

The extent of his connections are highlighted by the fact that he flew in former Isareli cabinet minister Aryeh Deri to oversee the circumcision of his newborn son Haim Yudel. Also in attendance were Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Ariel Sharon’s personal physician, Boleslav Goldman, and the Schlaff family's New York business partner Shlomo Obstfeld who according to Haaretz jumped from a 19th-floor apartment in Manhattan to his death under mysterious circumstances only a few weeks later. Gidi Weitz of Haaretz writes:

According to his friends, the doors of a variety of heads of state, mainly in Europe but also in the Arab world, open before Schlaff. He is known to be in contact, for example, with leading figures in the Egyptian and Jordanian regimes, as well as with Syrian President Bashar Assad and Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi.

The Austrian billionaire’s offices are located at No. 1 Trattnerhof in Vienna, just a few minutes’ walk from Saint Stephen’s Cathedral. Downstairs are the glittering upscale shops of Versace, Mandarina Duck luggage and similar brands. On the wall outside the handsome building, a metal plaque lists one of the firms in the building − Robert Placzek Holding AG, which deals in wood, pulp and paper. The company’s offices take up two stories and have a fitness room that serves Schlaff, who tries to stay in shape, and a kitchen, where a private chef cooks his meals to order.

In August 2001, Robert Placzek Holding transferred $650,000 to a Cypriot company called Trasimeno Trading Ltd., which was controlled − Israeli police suspect − by Lieberman, who at the time was serving as national infrastructure minister in Ariel Sharon’s government. A few months ago police investigators arrived in Vienna to gather testimony concerning the affair.

Contact

• Address: No 1. Trattnerhof, Vienna.

Resources

External Resources

• Special Report:The Schlaff Saga, Haaretz, 10 September 2010
• Gideon Levy, Time for disengagement, Haaretz, 12 September 2010