LETTER ATTORNEY KARL SCHUCHT FEB 22ND 2013

The following letter dated 22.2.2013 was sent by Attorney Karl Schucht, member of the Management Board of the contergan foundation for the 11th period of office, in reaction to the statement by our Chairman Andreas Meyer at the public hearing on 1.2.2013.

On 11.09.2013, Attorney Karl Schucht stated that his letter dated 22.02.2013 was a personal statement from his side.

You can download the letter dated 22.02.2013 as a PDF file here.

Letter_Attorney_Karl_Schucht_Feb_22nd_2013

As well as the download you will find a transcript of the letter from attorney Karl Schucht dated 22.02.2013 here:

“Committee for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth
German Federal Parliament
Platz der Republik 1
11011 Berlin

Cologne, February 22nd 2013

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Board and the Contergan Foundation are very happy to experience how the politicians have taken up the cause of the people damaged by Contergan in such a great and united way . We would like to express our sincere thanks for that.

As a member of the Board of the Contergan Foundation for People with Disabilities and an attendee at the public hearing of the Family Affairs Committee on February 1st 2013, I feel obliged to oppose Mr Andreas Meyer’s statement as it contains deliberately false allegations which are purely aimed at denigrating the Contergan Foundation and presenting it in a bad light.

Mr Meyer alleged that Grünenthal has been looking into the personal files of the beneficiaries at the Contergan Foundation for 30 years. This allegation is untrue. Grünenthal has never had access to the medical files of the Contergan Foundation. The medical files were and are always kept in the office of the Contergan Foundation.

Mr Meyer alleged that Grünenthal has been paying for the experts of the Medical Commission of the Contergan Foundation for 30 years.
This allegation is untrue. The experts of the Medical Commission have always been paid out of funds of the Contergan Foundation.

Mr Meyer alleged that even today the Chairwoman of the Contergan Foundation still favours a contract with the Grünenthal Company in which they agree to pay the costs of the Medical Commission.
This allegation is untrue. It is, however, correct that the Board seeks donations as foreseen in the Contergan Foundation Act. This also includes donations by Grünenthal.

Mr Meyer alleged he was only able to inspect the Board minutes shortly before his heart attack last year.
This allegation is untrue. Mr Meyer already had the opportunity to inspect the Board minutes while the office of the Contergan Foundation was still at the KfW in Bonn. Furthermore he was able to inspect and check the Board minutes on July 17th, 19th and 24th, August 8th, 9th, 15th, 16th, 22nd, 23rd and 29th for the whole day and on August 30th for half a day in the office of the Contergan Foundation. Naturally he was allowed to take notes, as is proven by his quotation from the minutes of a meeting on December 8th 2010.

Mr Meyer alleged that the Contergan Foundation has received money from the Grünenthal Company which was then passed on to Dr Graf, and that this method had been chosen to avoid accusations of corruption. It would seem that the Contergan Foundation has let itself be used to launder money.

This allegation is untrue. It is correct that the Board did not accept the offer from the Grünenthal Company and the Contergan Foundation has at no time accepted money from the Grünenthal Company to pass on to Dr Graf.

Yours sincerely

(signature)
Karl Schucht.“

Please refer the statement by Andreas Meyer on 1.2.2013.

Please refer the reply of Andreas Meyer to the Panel of Family, Seniors, Women and Youth from March 8th 2013.

The statement dated 1.2.2013 and the reply by Andreas Meyer dated 8.3.2013 and the letter from Attorney Karl Schucht, member of the Management Board for the 11th period of office, dated 22.2.2013, were immediately the subject of Two Minor Interpellations by the Parliamentary Group Die Linke (Left Party) on 4.4.2013.

The above-mentioned sequence of events, with the statement by Andreas Meyer on 01.02.2013 and the letter from Attorney Karl Schucht on 22.02.2013, has now caused Mr Meyer to bring a lawsuit against Attorney Schucht before the Bonn Regional Court.

Please refer details of the legal and socio-political significance of the lawsuit.

Please refer our press release dated 5.9.2016 about the filing of the lawsuit.

Please refer our press release dated 13.2.2017 about the court proceedings.

Please refer our press release dated 9.3.2017 about the continuation of the proceedings with no out-of-court settlement.

Please refer our press release dated 08.06.2016 about the not yet final judgement of bonn regional court on 10.5.2017.

Please refer our press release dated 26.09.2017 about our petition for a nation wide anti-corruption law.

Please refer our Invitation dated 19.01.2018 to the court hearing at the Cologne Higher Regional Court on 15.2.2018.

Please refer our press release dated 06.02.2018 about the hearing at the Cologne Higher Regional Court on 15.02.2018.

Please refer our press release dated 4.6.2018 Gruenenthal Cartel against Contergan victims.

Please refer our draft resolution to extend the audit mandate of the law firm GSK Stockmann & Kollegen dated 9.11.2018.

Please also read Section B of the open e-mail letter from Andreas Meyer to the Chairman of the Council of the Contergan Foundation, Christoph Linzbach (BMFSFJ), dated 30.4.2019.

Please refer our press release dated 29.05.2019 Gruenenthal’s man from the Family Affairs Ministry.