As court spokeswoman Christina Salzborn explained, Strache and Stieglitz, who are accused of bribery, are initially offered six days of trial. The verdicts are therefore not expected until the end of July at the earliest. Wasn’t charged Norbert Hoferwho, after Strache’s Ibiza-related resignation, succeeded him as FPÖ chairman.
Hofer was originally included in the investigations by the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption (WKStA), especially since he was Minister of Infrastructure when Stieglitz took a seat on the Asfinag Supervisory Board in early March 2018. However, the WKStA could not prove that Hofer knew about the incriminating events, which is why the proceedings against him were discontinued.
What Strache is accused of
Strache, on the other hand, is charged with chat messages to or from Stieglitz that were evaluated after the Ibiza affair. The WKStA assumes that Stieglitz had already intervened with Strache in 2017 to land a supervisory board position in a state-owned company.
From October 2017, the Steyr real estate entrepreneur transferred a total of 10,000 euros to the FPÖ-affiliated association “Austria in Motion” in four tranches of 2,500 euros each. In return, Strache is said to have ensured that Stieglitz ended up at Asfinag. According to the WKStA, a travel invitation addressed to Strache from Sieglitz to a birthday party in Dubai also played a role, which Strache, however, rejected. The presumption of innocence applies to both defendants.
second process
The main hearing in question is the second criminal case against Strache after the Ibiza video was published. At the end of August 2021, the ex-FPÖ leader was given a conditional sentence of 15 months for corruption by the Vienna regional court in connection with the affair surrounding the private hospital financing fund (Prikraf). The procedure was about a suspected law purchase in connection with the Währing private clinic – the clinic operator had donated a total of 12,000 euros to the federal FPÖ. However, this judgment is still not final.
On the allegations in connection with the Asfinag post to Stieglitz – this was recalled in 2020 under the now responsible minister Leonore Gewessler (Greens) – Strache had after filing the criminal complaint APA-Request stated: “I know that I will be able to easily refute the allegations during the main hearing in court.” In terms of content, Strache only wanted to speak to the court, his defense attorney Johann Pauer had explained.
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