A billionaire’s celebration for completing his biggest order from Amazon has become a huge scandal in Austria, reaching country’s Parliament
Austrian toolmaker Haidlmair wanted to celebrate a major business milestone with a party that would be hard to forget. It certainly succeeded. The company marked its biggest-ever Amazon order with a helicopter arrival, live performances and a surprise appearance by a man dressed to look like Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. But the celebration soon turned into a political controversy after the fake Jeff Bezos was escorted by three real, heavily armed Austrian police officers.The unusual appearance took place in August at Haidlmair’s celebration in Micheldorf, Upper Austria. The officers, however, belonged to the Schnelle Interventionsgruppe (SIG), a special police unit based in Linz. While the man playing Bezos was an impersonator, the armed security detail was genuine.The incident is now facing an internal police review, with questions over who approved the deployment, whether the officers were authorized to take part and who should pay for their presence. Austria’s Green Party has also announced a parliamentary inquiry.
Why was a fake Jeff Bezos escorted by real police
The man playing Jeff Bezos was Cagdas Halicilar, a professional Bezos lookalike from Germany. He arrived by helicopter wearing a dark suit and aviator-style glasses, completing the billionaire’s familiar appearance.According to reports, the police officers knew they were escorting an impersonator. Their presence was reportedly arranged after Haidlmair contacted Linz police chief Klaus Hübner, whom he has known for years.Haidlmair said Hübner initially found the request unusual but later saw the event as an opportunity to promote police work, recruitment and employer branding. The company also reportedly offered to cover the cost of the officers, although Haidlmair said no invoice had been received when the issue emerged. The arrangement has now raised a bigger question: why was a special police unit used to make a billionaire impersonator’s entrance look real?
The Amazon order behind the unusual party
The celebration itself marked a significant achievement for Haidlmair. The company had completed around 170 injection molds in roughly six months for Amazon. The project involved more than 650,000 components and 2,800 metric tons of steel. The molds will be used to make standardized containers for Amazon logistics centres in the US, Mexico and Canada, with initial use expected in 2027 and deliveries beginning in 2028.Amazon representative Rick Spooner also attended the event.The event included helicopter rides, freestyle motocross, live music, bull riding and food, making the fake Bezos’ helicopter arrival part of an already elaborate celebration.But the involvement of the SIG has become the focus of attention.The unit is intended for particularly dangerous situations and reportedly does not have personal-protection training. Der Standard reported that the officers may have been allowed to record the assignment as overtime, potentially including hazard pay, although police have not confirmed those details.
