Germany Wins Court Case over Communist Millions

The Austrian bank Schoellerbank has transferred €146.5 million ($178.3 million) to the German government after losing a decade-long legal fight over funds that once belonged to the former East German regime. The bank held the money in an account in Liechtenstein during the Cold War for the East German company FC Gerlach, which was used as a front to hold hard western currency for the communist country. A court in Vienna said that the German government was the rightful owner of the money, since FC Gerlach was a state-backed firm. Schoellerbank had previously refused to transfer the funds even though Germany had won a first ruling in 1999.