Former Austrian Chancellor and head of the Austrian People’s Party (OeVP), Sebastian Kurz, has been charged with giving false testimony before an investigative commission, the Economic and Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (WKStA) informed. On October 18, the first hearing in the criminal trial at the district court in Vienna was scheduled.
The verdict is expected on October 23, the APA reported on Friday. Alongside Kurz, his longtime collaborator Bernhard Bonelli will also stand trial, as will former vice-president of the OeVP Bettina Glatz-Kremsner – CEO of Casinos until March 2022 Austria.
Christina Salzborn, a spokeswoman for the Viennese court, confirmed that the crime against Kurz, Bonelli and Glatz-Kremsner was reported on August 11. She noted that the extensive files on the three suspects occupy “several boxes” and the indictment is 108 pages long.
Sebastian KuzSiskin/Patrick McMullan/Getty Images
The case concerns possible Russian influence on Austrian politics
The prosecutor’s office announced on Friday that the defendants are accused of making false statements before an investigative committee regarding the so-called the Ibiza scandal, i.e. possible Russian influence on Austrian politics. Prosecutors also stressed that the three defendants knowingly testified untruth by making false statements. During the trial, the court is to assess to what extent the actions of the defendants were related to “possible political influence on filling positions for which Kurz was responsible.”
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The alleged crime is punishable by up to three years in prison, the prosecutor’s office said on Friday.
Sebastian Kuz stated on Friday morning on platform X, his former Twitter, that “the allegations against him are false” and “waiting impatiently when the truth comes out and the court finds the allegations baseless.”
Main photo source: Siskin/Patrick McMullan/Getty Images