Austrian Chancellor Kurz confirms he is under investigation
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on Wednesday confirmed that he and Gerhard Bonelli, his chief of staff, are both under investigation by anti-corruption prosecutors . He is being investigated for possible false statements made to a parliamentary commission investigating the so-called "Ibiza Affair" — a sting video that brought down the former government and forced new elections.
"I knew there was a legal requirement to speak the
truth in the commission and therefore of course always answered [questions]
truthfully," Kurz told reporters in Vienna. The young chancellor said he
was confident he would be proven innocent.
At issue is whether Kurz misled commission investigators
while testifying about political appointments that were discussed in the Ibiza
video.
Though Kurz has denied any involvement in the 2019
appointment of his close confidant Thomas Schmid as CEO of OBAG, which manages
Austria's holdings in a number of companies including the oil company OMV, the
parliamentary commission is reportedly in possession of text messages between
the two men that suggest the opposite, including one in which Kurz promises
Schmid "everything you want" before his appointment.
Austria's Prosecutors' Office for Economic Affairs and
Corruption (WKStA) confirmed its perjury investigation, saying, "It is
regarding the allegation that a false statement was made before the Ibiza
commission of inquiry in connection with the establishment of OBAG."
The source of Kurz's grief stems from the bombshell sting
video that blew the lid off the so-called Ibiza Affair. The video was recorded
in 2017, shortly before Kurz took office and ultimately brought down the
governing coalition between Kurz's Austrian People's Party (OVP) and the
far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) and forced new elections after it was
made public in May 2019.
In the video, FPO leader Heinz-Christian Strache, who would
later become vice chancellor under Kurz, was recorded alongside deputy party
leader Johann Gudenus as the two met with a woman claiming to be the niece of a
Russian oligarch at a villa on the Spanish island of Ibiza. An interpreter for
the woman, as well as Gudunus' wife were also present.
The video captured the men drinking heavily and discussing
the possibility of awarding lucrative government contracts to the woman in
exchange for her help in providing positive media coverage ahead of upcoming
parliamentary elections if she were able to successfully purchase the Kronen
Zeitung, an Austrian tabloid.
Strache and Gudunus also suggested the woman could make
political donations via secret accounts, claiming others had already done so.
Strache later denied any illegal activity and said that he had been talking
nonsense in his drunken state. He eventually stepped down from his post and
Kurz ended the coalition shortly thereafter.
The repercussions still reverberate today with a number of
high-level conservative politicians either having stepped down or being
investigated.
Among the government contracts discussed in the video was
one involving the gaming industry company Novomatic. In February, Kurz's
closest political ally, Finance Minister Gernot Blümel, was also placed under
investigation on suspicion of bribery involving Novomatic payments to the OVP
in exchange for helping the firm avoid foreign tax liabilities. Blümel has
denied any wrongdoing and has refused to resign his post.
In his statement to journalists Wednesday, Kurz accused the
parliamentary commission of trying to twist his words and force him into
perjuring himself. If found guilty, he could face three years in prison.
Despite the cloud of corruption allegations that hangs over
the young politician, he and his party have retained a commanding lead in
opinion polls. On Wednesday, Kurz said he has no intention of leaving office,
no matter what investigators may find.
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