2023-08-18 12:54:01
Ex-chancellor and ex-ÖVP boss Sebastian Kurz, his longtime confidant Bernhard Bonelli and former ÖVP deputy party leader Bettina Glatz-Kremsner, until March 2022 general director of Casinos Austria and CEO of Austrian Lotteries, have to face the allegation from October 18th responsible for the false testimony before the Vienna Regional Court for Criminal Matters.
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Specifically, the following statements are involved.
Sebastian Kurz
The main question is to what extent he was involved in Thomas Schmid’s appointment as ÖBAG boss. The question of whether he had been involved beforehand was answered in the affirmative by Kurz in the Ibiza U Committee with the addition “involved in the sense of informed” – a false statement, according to the WKStA. Kurz himself approached Schmid in the summer of 2017 to commission him with the structural reform and to inform him that Schmid’s role in the management of the new investment company was to be seen. In addition, in a side letter signed by Kurz with the then Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache (FPÖ), the ÖVP’s right to nominate the board of directors of the investment company was agreed.
When asked regarding perceptions of the composition of the supervisory board of ÖBAG, Kurz stated “unlike the facts” that he knew that there had been talks in the Ministry of Finance and in the responsible nomination committee, but he had not made the decision and not selected the supervisory board members. The prosecution sees it differently: in a side letter, a right of nomination by the ÖVP was also agreed for the ÖBAG supervisory board. Kurz himself “participated in many discussions regarding the composition of the supervisory board” and actively contributed and had all supervisory boards to be appointed by the ÖVP “coordinated” with him himself.
According to the WKStA, Kurz also testified incorrectly in relation to a chat between Strache and former Finance Minister Hartwig Löger, which was regarding an agreement. According to the file, Kurz stated that this might be anything, he had no idea what they had agreed, although he knew that it was a personnel package regarding appointments to the “FMA Neu” and ÖBAG and their associated companies.
Bernhard Bonelli
Kurz’s confidant and former head of cabinet, Bernhard Bonelli, is also accused of making false statements to the U-committee in relation to the appointment of the ÖBAG supervisory board. He testified that he had been informed regarding the decision made, although he “was actually involved in the process from September 2018 at the latest, took part in several meetings regarding the composition of the ÖBAG supervisory board, and discussed possible candidates with Kurz, Löger and Schmid and knew that personal loyalty and reliability were a second decisive selection criterion in addition to basic professional qualifications.” He also suggested Kurz a possible candidate and coordinated with him all subsequent supervisory board members. Accordingly, the statement that the appointment was a decision of the Minister of Finance was also a false statement.
According to the WKStA, Bonelli also testified incorrectly when he stated that he might not remember exactly whether there had been agreements between the governing parties regarding the appointment of a sole director. Bonelli also stated that he did not know who selected the cabinet members in the Treasury Department. In this regard, however, he organized the process and contacted Löger on his own initiative, discussed his proposals in meetings and informed him at the end of the process that “Löger’s envisaged appointment of Kurz, Blümel and Melchior (Axel, note) has been approved.”
Bettina Glatz-Kremsner
Glatz-Kremsner is accused of making false statements both in the investigation committee and in front of the business and corruption attorney’s office. In the course of the investigation into the Casag cause, she stated that she did not know regarding a meeting between Löger and Johann Graf – a false statement, according to the public prosecutor. She also made false statements regarding the appointment of Peter Sidlos as a member of the Casag board. She would only have known that he was an FPÖ district councillor, but had no perception of the political background to his appointment. The statement that she had not promised any support in ordering Sidlos and had never spoken to Strache regarding it was also untruthful. However, she would have said “support very much and out of conviction.”
Furthermore, Glatz-Kremsner stated that he had received no “signals” from the Ministry of Finance or the ÖVP party leadership to support an application for the position of CEO of Casag. The prosecution accuses her of knowing that Schmid, Löger and Kurz supported her application and told her so.
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