A year ago, house searches caused a political shock in the Chancellery, among other things. Polished studies, ten suspects. State of affairs: Not much is happening. Only the key witness has testified.
October 6, 2021. House searches in the Federal Chancellery (BKA) and the Ministry of Finance. With close associates of Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. In addition to Kurz, nine other people have been accused of beautifying studies funded by taxpayers. A year has passed. What happened?
Pollster Sabine Beinschab has unpacked. “Everyone agreed to testify at the beginning. But only after the results of the investigation,” said Werner Suppan, who also represents Kurz in this case. So far, no one has testified. There are rumors that key figure Thomas Schmid sang in this affair. This causes nervousness in the ÖVP.
Central figure
According to “Krone” information, Beinschab initially dismissed her role as “secretary”, but soon, when it came to leniency, she claimed to have been a central figure on the corruption carousel. Only those who know a lot and contribute to the enlightenment are given the status.
Important for Suppan: “Beinschab said she doesn’t know Kurz, only saw him once in passing.” She certainly had suspicious communications with Kurz confidants and Sophie Karmasin.
Lawyer: ‘Suspect not confirmed’
The WKStA declined to comment yesterday and should soon launch criminal proceedings against the pollster and ex-minister. Karmasin has also remained silent until now. In addition, the corruption investigators demanded emails from dozens of BKA employees, who, however, refused to deliver – and it was supported by Wolfgang Peschorn, lawyer of the Republic: There is no specific information.
One of Kurz’s confidants is Gerald Fleischmann. His lawyer Klaus Ainedter considers the attempts problematic because of the quasi-arbitrary request for files. “Apparently the investigations conducted so far have not confirmed the suspicion, which does not surprise my client. He was not guilty of anything.” One thing is certain: the presumption of innocence applies to all mentioned persons.
Source: Krone
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