exclusive
The insolvency administrator of Augustus Intelligence complains loudly NDR, WDR and SZ against former managers of the mysterious US start-up, which was at the center of a Berlin lobbying affair. One of them: CDU politician Amthor.
Was the dazzling start-up “Augustus Intelligence” just a castle in the air? According to information from WDR, NDR and “Süddeutsche Zeitung” (SZ), the insolvency administrator of the now insolvent company in the USA is suing former managers of the New York start-up, which claims to want to invest in future technologies such as artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies.
He suspects that Augustus Intelligence’s investors were deceived, that the company was not what it said it was, and that former executives may have breached their duties. The lawsuit was filed on April 23 in a Delaware civil court. She makes serious allegations. There is talk of fraud, breach of contract and breach of duty of care. The business magazine “Capital” also reports on the process.
massive claims for damages
The American liquidator is therefore now demanding millions in damages – including from a German member of the Bundestag: Philipp Amthor from the CDU, who had worked for about a year as one of the company’s supervisory board members and was thus at the center of a lobbying affair in 2020. He is said to have campaigned for the company with the then Economics Minister Peter Altmaier. The public prosecutor’s office in Berlin saw no initial suspicion of criminal behavior at the time.
The insolvency administrator now accuses Amthor and other directors of having been informed about grievances at Augustus and also that the investors were said to have been promised far more than actually existed. Effective internal controls have not been established, those responsible have violated their supervision and have not complied with the relevant US laws. They also allegedly failed to ensure that Augustus’ marketing to investors was factually correct and reflected the true facts.
Philipp Amthor let it be known that due to the ongoing proceedings he would not comment comprehensively on the content. The lawsuit has not yet been served on him. Amthor assumed that the investment commitments were legally valid and that there were no ancillary agreements. He was also only a member of the US company’s supervisory board from May 2019 to June 2020, which he still considers a mistake to this day.
Guttenberg family also invested
The investors who probably lost a lot of money include well-known names from circles in the Union and millionaire families – including the company Spitzberg Partners of the former CSU federal minister and today’s management consultant Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg. Not only had his company put about $1.5 million into the venture. According to media reports, Guttenberg had also supported the start-up, including in a letter to the then Chancellor Angela Merkel.
When asked, his lawyer said that Guttenberg “already made it clear in the investigative committee before the German Bundestag that he had never acted as a lobbyist for Augustus Intelligence.” All of the allegations made turned out to be unfounded. The group of investors also includes Stefan Prinz von Liechtenstein, one of the heirs of the Finck dynasty, August Francois von Finck, members of the Austrian crystal family Swarovski and millionaires from the USA. They all declined to comment on the lawsuit when asked.
Ex-President for the Protection of the Constitution Maassen advised Augustus Intelligence, but does not claim to have benefited from it.
The start-up at the noble address in New York’s World Trade Center caused a stir in Germany, mainly because there were a few German lobbyists who campaigned for it: Ex-President for the Protection of the Constitution, Hans-Georg Maassen, advised the company for a year long, but according to his own statements, he only received unredeemed stock options at the time, no payment. Ex-BND boss August Hanning also admitted to similar advisory activities to the media at the time. They cast a mysterious light on the small start-up, which had about 30 employees.
Serious allegations from insolvency advisor
Insolvency administrator Brian Ryniker assumes that despite this prominent environment, Augustus Intelligence was a scam from the start. Accordingly, the company is said to have never had the claimed seed capital of around $50 million or the promised access to important crypto technologies.
Nevertheless, the German founder Wolfgang Haupt, who has passed away in the meantime, and the American billionaire’s son Kevin Washington are said to have acted this out for potential investors. It has been claimed that Washington is not only bringing in a lot of money, but also data centers that are supposed to produce bitcoins and thus enable the company to enter the crypto business. But that should never have happened. With false promises, 35 million euros were collected from investors.
Investor’s family denied
The late Wolfgang Haupt’s family attorney said the family would not comment on or be involved in the legal aftermath of Augustus Intelligence. The internal investigation report was written after Wolfgang Haupt’s death and wrongly blamed him for the downfall of Augustus Intelligence. According to the lawyer, if Wolfgang Haupt could still defend himself, the conclusions of the report would have been very different.
Numerous investors apparently want nothing to do with the insolvency administrator’s lawsuit – and they don’t hold grudges against Philipp Amthor either: After WDR, NDR and SZ had contacted some investors and Amthor with questions, the Berlin lawyer Christian-Oliver Moser got in touch. In terms of press law, he represents “the group of majority investors in Augustus Intelligence”, including Guttenberg.
The decision on the content and focus of lawsuits does not lie with the investors, but solely with the litigation trust, the American counterpart to insolvency administration. The lawsuit is also directed against Philipp Amthor and another manager of the company. The investors, however, had no doubts about their integrity and the dutiful behavior of Amthor.