Austria: Searching for the office of President Sebastian Kurs and his allies

According to ABA, Chancellor Kurs, Who attended the EU-Western Balkan summit in Slovenia on Wednesday, has not yet spoken on the matter. On Wednesday morning, the media reported that plainclothes investigators arrived at the OVP headquarters and the Chancellor’s office with a 100-page search warrant. Investigators searched for others Gerald Fleischmann’s spokesman and Stephen Steiner’s political adviser and their cell phones were confiscated.

Officials were interested in the documents of close associates of President Kurz (OVP); A spokesman for the president of the ABA agency confirmed that staff offices in the Chancellor’s office and the OVP party headquarters in Vienna had been raided.

Investigators obtained a search warrant from the Economic Crimes and Corruption Authority (WKStA). According to the daily “Die Press”, the prosecution on Wednesday confirmed the search for allegations of bribery and corruption, including Inter Alia, former family minister Sophie Karmasin, research expert Sabine Bainsoff, and media mogul Wolfgang Felner and the head of his media group.

Thomas Schmidt and Felner, the former Secretary-General of the Ministry of Finance, are the defendants in this “complex, major investigation complex” dealing with corruption, vote-rigging and fraud in advertising. President Kurz is also involved. “Investigations are underway for breach of trust and aiding and abetting bribery.

According to the Austrian media, the investigation has involved a multi-layered case since 2016 – At the time, Kurz was head of the Foreign MinistryThe Chancellor aspires to office. At the time, the polls were published in the Austrian media, which “appeared in the media as indicated and paid for by the Ministry of Finance.” According to the WKStA, the move “was driven only by opinion polls aimed at party politics and the political advancement of Sebastian Kurs and his close allies and people’s group affiliated with the OVP.”

According to ORF information, surveys for OVP were to be paid by the Ministry of Finance and a fake invoice was issued. Felner and his media team made deals with “Austria”, which published the poll and received paid advertising in return. “Multi-stage agreement that brought benefits to Kurs’ life” – abbreviated “SZ”.

The media group “Austria” commented on the prosecution’s allegations, saying they were based on “serious misconceptions” and that the APA had never agreed with the finance ministry to hold a referendum in return for publicity.

August Wojinger, president of the OVP Club, expressed outrage. He said there were “false allegations” aimed at harming the People’s Party and President Sebastian Kurz.

Carl Nehmer (OVP), the head of the Interior Ministry who was staying in Innbruck at the time, made it clear that “the OVP will defend itself against all charges with all the powers allowed under the rule of law.” But he, as home minister, did not want to comment on the ongoing proceedings. “Now is the time for the judiciary,” Nehmar insisted.