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ROBBERY

Helicopter heist suspect confesses to theft

A 31-year-old man charged with playing a role in a spectacular robbery at a Stockholm cash depot last year has admitted he was involved in the heist.

Helicopter heist suspect confesses to theft

The man surprised prosecutors by confessing that he was part of last September’s spectacular robbery, in which a helicopter was used to remove cash from the depot in Västberga, a suburb in the west of Stockholm.

“But he is only admitting aggravated theft,” the man’s lawyer Peter Lindqvist said.

“According to the plan presented to him, no people would be present in the depot, and it would consequently not be a question of burglary.”

Footage from the depot’s security cameras shows the man wearing white shoes and carrying an automatic shotgun. The 31-year-old insists that the gun was not usable, and he only carried it as a way of delaying the police, who could see live footage from inside the depot.

The 31-year-old also admits to smashing the building’s glass roof.

The man claims he took part in the robbery to pay off a debt. He claimed not to know the two accomplices who were with him in the depot. He also claimed not to recognize the pilot as the man now sitting next to him in the courtroom.

Peter Lindqvist said his client does not want to reveal who recruited him to the robbery. He claims to have been brought in at a late stage, to replace someone else.

“My client did not see any people on the premises. He was distressed to find out that there were people in there and is upset that they are feeling bad,” Lindqvist said.

The man’s blood was found in the depot on several tools used in the robbery.

The penalty for aggravated theft is lower than that for aggravated robbery.

Until now, all those charged with the crime have pleaded not guilty.

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COST OF LIVING

Could coronavirus end Austria’s love affair with cash?

Along with the rest of German-speaking Europe, cash payments have remained stubbornly popular in Austria. But with card payments on the rise due to the pandemic, could that be set to change permanently?

Could coronavirus end Austria’s love affair with cash?
Austria loves cash, but will the pandemic change all that? Photo: ALEX HALADA / AFP

Unlike Scandinavia, the Benelux countries or the British Isles, German-speaking Europe remains keen on cash. 

For a number of historical reasons, cash is still king in Austria, Germany and much of Switzerland – or at least until the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Austria loves cash so much that it tried to make a right to cash payments part of the constitution in 2019. 

READ MORE: Austria's love of cash in poll campaign spotlight 

While the effort ultimately failed, it showed just how much Austria loves that cold, hard stuff. 

A pre-pandemic study showed that Austria are the kings of cash, with 83 percent of Austrians using cash regularly, compared with 75 percent of Germans and 71 percent of Swiss. 

This is compared with card leaders such as Sweden, where cash is expected to disappear completely by 2030. 

The number of domestic card payments increased by 20 percent in 2020 in Austria, rising from 900 million payments to 1.1 billion, according to Payment Services Austria (PSA). 

In the same period, foreign card transactions also increased in Austria in 2020, crossing the 1.2 billion mark for the first time. 

Contactless and mobile payments are also experiencing a dramatic rise in Austria. 

Similar trends have been observed in Germany and Switzerland, leading many to ask whether the shift is set to become permanent. 

Money, cash, woes?

Concerns over the cleanliness of cash and a desire to avoid trips to the ATM have been flagged as a major reason for the change. 

The number of cash withdrawals from ATMs in Austria fell significantly, from 137 million to 100 million in 2020. 

Contactless payments increased by 34 percent in 2020 compared to 2019, according to PSA. 

READ MORE: Could coronavirus end the Swiss love affair with cash? 

In March 2020, Austria also made it easier to pay with contactless cards by increasing the maximum amount to be paid without entering a pin from €25 to €50. 

Retailers pushed for the change in a bid to reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission and the limit looks to remain in place for the foreseeable future. 

According to the PSA, the card is here to stay, even when and if life returns to normal after the pandemic. 

Harald Flatscher, Managing Director of PSA, said “the steady upward trend also shows how much the use of the card has become part of people's everyday lives.”

A permanent shift to card?

There are however signs that the trends might be temporary. 

While 2020 saw an increase in card payments, it actually saw a decrease in the amount spent overall, which could amount to a temporary trend. 

Another big change is the lack of tourist traffic, making it hard to determine if any shift is actually permanent.  

READ MORE: Will the coronavirus pandemic speed up the end of cash in Germany? 

Writing in Austria’s Der Standard on Wednesday, January 27th, Muzayen Al-Youssef outlined the concerns of many Austrians when pointing to the traceability of card. 

“Transparency also has consequences. Think, for example, of so-called credit scoring, in which the creditworthiness of a customer is calculated based on the available data,” he said.

“If you drink too much alcohol, in extreme cases you could suddenly no longer finance your own apartment.

“Does a bank really always have to know when – and, by the way, where – its customers bought sex toys, alcohol or cigarettes?”

 

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