Two Austrians were sentenced to three years in prison in Monaco Tuesday for procuring up to 30 prostitutes a month for a Saudi prince in Monaco, justice officials said.
The officials said arrest warrants have been issued for Cornelia Suss, 38, and Frantz Hohenberger, 44, who attended the trial but were not present at the sentencing.
The two were convicted of "procuring" and "complicity to procure" for setting up a network of prostitutes in Austria for Saudi Prince Bin Abdelaziz Turky while he was staying in Monaco.
Prosecutors said the nephew of Saudi King Fahd entertained about 30 women per month between 1996 and 1998 at the Hotel de Paris in the principality. The women charged between 2,500 and 3,500 dollars (2,300 and 3,220 euros).
Suss and Hohenberger hired the women through small ads placed in international publications, promising them trips to royal palaces from Suss's Vienna company "Top Promotion and Marketing," which she described as "an agency for beauty queens."
Suss, who had met the prince previously, had asked Hohenberger to assist her.
Hohenberger ran an escort agency in Vienna, where he has been convicted of embezzlement. He has also been convicted in another prostitution case in the United States.
The two were arrested on April 23 and May 6, 1997 in Monaco, but released on bail 10 months later – MONACO (AFP)
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
