Interviewer: Dr Alex, you are a two-time Olympian - and in a bizarre case of mistaken identity a major international bank, Raiffeisen Bank, made a statement that you are on their list of persons involved with terrorist actions.
Dr Alex: That’s correct.
Interviewer: Your career up until now has been nothing short of remarkable, hasn’t it? Let’s see some facts here:
You competed in 1992 and 1998 in the Chess Olympiads with great success for the Australian team
You have a Bachelor of Arts diploma in English Literature, and you also have a Bachelor of Computer Science diploma and you are also a PhD in Computer and Information Science
You represented Australia in the EDS Business Case Challenge in Texas in United States
You presented at numerous international conferences
You are well-known Internet entrepreneur, a writer and a public speaker…
… and there are so many people who have known you for years and who speak highly of you
So, how can anyone think you are involved in terrorism? How can a major international bank, Raiffeisen Bank, with offices in many European countries, have your details on such a list?
Dr Alex: I am not sure, but both my first and my last name are quite common in Eastern Europe, so it is likely the case of mistaken identity. The bank made a mistake, but so far they have not corrected it and the consequences for me and my business, and for my family are horrible.
Interviewer: You are a public person and this accusation by Raiffeisen Bank must have had a devastating effect on, but let me ask you first, how did you find out you are on the list?
Dr Alex: My company, C Point, made a purchase of a ready-made software solution we needed for the business, and it so happened that the supplier had an account with the Raiffeisen Bank. We transferred the money - it should have been straight forward – except that it didn’t arrive in the supplier’s bank account.
After weeks of uncertainty, Raiffeisen Bank confirmed that the transfer had not been, and was not going to be, credited to the supplier’s account. They issued the supplier with the statement, who sent it to me. Now I do not want to misinterpret something, so here is the copy of the statement. For privacy reasons I blotted out the names and the amount.
[Click on the image for the larger copy. Personal details blotted for privacy reasons.]
Interviewer (reading):
We hereby confirm that the electronic transfer initiated by Mr. Alex Davidovic, living in Australia, Para Hills, sent on July 15th, 2008, was returned to the sender for reason: Sender details are present on our list of persons involved with terrorist actions.
The amount of the electronic transfer has not and will not be credited to your account.
Interviewer: Amazing – you are not even a suspect, the statement reads “on our list of people involved with terrorist actions”! What does it mean for you, your family, your friends?
Dr Alex: It’s been devastating. I had to work very hard all my life to earn my reputation. It is not easy to win the right to represent Australia in 2 Chess Olympiads, you need lots of dedication, lots of work. I was hoping to be able to die one day in dignity after living a strong and a purposeful life. And now - how can I ever fully restore my reputation after what Raiffeisen Bank has done to me? There will always be some people saying “where there’s smoke there’s fire”. As a professional marketer I need credibility and when they throw mud at you, some mud always sticks.
In short: my friends and family are very upset about this, my current and my long-term ability to earn and provide for my family are diminished. My business is affected, my reputation is affected, and I don’t even know if I can travel overseas now – it’s just horrible, this has turned my life upside-down and affected every aspect of it.
Interviewer: The software you paid for – what was it for?
Dr Alex: It was to power a website and the plan was for the website to have a launch in front of the TV audience of 550,000 people when 8-episodes of the Underdog Marketing Challenge air on South Australian TV Channel 9 as part of the ‘Feeling Good’ program. Unfortunately, I had to give up on that plan when the supplier informed me that the bank could not have me on the list of terrorists for no reason, and backed out of the deal.
Interviewer: So tell me, have you tried contacting the bank to resolve this?
Dr Alex: Yes, I have. The phone call got me nowhere; I sent them a fax – they have not responded yet.
Interviewer: What about the Australian government? Are they trying to help?
Dr Alex: Yes! I’ve been to the office of my federal member of Parliament, they are doing what they can. I love Australia and I think that the government does lots to assist and protect its citizens, but in this case we’re dealing with the private bank in Europe, at the other side of the world – Australian government has no jurisdiction there, and any resolution is likely to take months or even years.
Interviewer: That statement says that the money was returned to the sender. Did you at least get your money back?
Dr Alex: No, I haven’t.
[ Note: 2 days after the interview, Raiffeisen Bank returned the funds
to Alex's bank. ]
Interviewer: Ironically, with marketing expert Penelope Herbert, you have co-authored the 12-step business mentoring program called Underdog Marketing Challenge and the book “Underdog Marketing” which is about to be published, and now you find yourself in the position of a true underdog - facing Raiffeisen Bank, the enormous international bank. Can you comment on that?
Dr Alex: The book is coming out but I don’t want to talk about the book or the Underdog Marketing Challenge because this is not about selling anything, and yes, I am currently the underdog facing a multi-billion dollar corporation.
Interviewer: They say some mud always sticks, so why are you going public with this?
Dr Alex: First, because this could happen to other people – if it happened to me it could happen to you, it could happen to anybody. Second, because in a situation like this, you can either run away and hide, or you can fight. I choose to fight and I think that other people do benefit from learning about what happened to me because next time it could be them in my shoes.
Interviewer: Amazing story, an innocent man’s reputation shattered!
Interviewer: And now let’s hear what people who have known Dr Alex for decades have to say about this.
[ People who have known Dr Alex for decades speak out. ]
Visit Raiffeisen and mail/phone/fax the bank to immediately get Dr Alex Davidovic off their list of persons involved with terrorist actions.
OR, send a message online to the Raiffeisen contact person you'll see on the right side of the page.
If you can, donate to Battler Fund to Clear Dr Alex's Name. This helps a lot because it makes battling a multi-billion-dollar international bank much easier.
