Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg was a rising star in German politics until it was discovered that he had plagiarized massive sections of his doctoral dissertation. He left Germany in 2011 for the United States where he landed on Wall Street. From time to time a "KT" has explored making a comeback in Germany. Two recent events have made a comeback less likely in the near future.
Recently, Der Spiegel reported that Guttenberg had lobbied the chancellery in Berlin on behalf of Wirecard AG, the fintech company that defrauded investors of millions of euros.
Guttenberg beriet den Dax-Konzern bei dessen Expansion nach China mit seiner Investment- und Consultingfirma Spitzberg Partners. Am selben Tag habe Guttenberg eine E-Mail an Lars-Hendrik Röller, den Leiter der Abteilung für Wirtschafts-, Finanz- und Energiepolitik des Kanzleramtes und den Persönlichen Beauftragten Merkels für die G7- und G20-Gipfel, geschickt.
Darin informierte er Röller laut dem "Spiegel" über den beabsichtigten Markteintritt von Wirecard in China und bat ihn um "Flankierung im Rahmen der China-Reise" Merkels am 6. und 7. September 2019. Nach der China-Reise antwortete Röller demnach Guttenberg am 8. September per Mail, "dass das Thema bei dem Besuch in China zur Sprache gekommen und weitere Flankierung zugesagt" sei.
Evidently KT's efforts bore fruit - Wirecard's interests were discussed at the highest levels during Angela Merkel's visit to Beijing - although it is not clear whether Merkel was personally involved. In any case, Wirecard announced shortly afterwards that it had acquired a Chinese payment processing company.
Guttenberg later said he "shocked an horrified" after Wirecard's massive fraud came to light. This is slightly ridiculous, since - as I wrote in December - there were many signs of irregularities in Wirecard's financial reporting. The Financial Times had been sounding the alarm for well over a year. '
KT Guttenberg has also been active in promoting an AI software start- up Augustus Intelligence. Little is known about this secretive company, where Guttenberg has a leadership position, but it does not appear to have any real product or customers. The tech-journalist Sascha Lobo has written that Augustus Intelligence is a Palantir-wannabe. Palantir is the data intelligence software company that is slated to complete its IPO this year with a $20 billion valuation.
Palantir steht wie kaum ein Unternehmen für die Privatisierung der Sicherheitsbehörden, für die Übernahme eines Teils staatlicher Hoheitsgewalt mit digitalen Mitteln. Über Palantir gab es Gerüchte, viele Produkte seien untauglich oder luftschlossig. Aber die Verheißung, mithilfe künstlicher Intelligenz endlich den perfekten Überwachungs- und Sicherheitsapparat zu schaffen, hat Palantir noch immer für Behörden und besonders die konservative Politik attraktiv erscheinen lassen.
Palantir is a dream platform for authoritarian regimes such a China, Russia, or Turkey - as well as for wannabe authoritarians such as the Trump administration. Augustus Intelligence evidently wants to compete with its own "dictator-ware" offering.
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