Former Secretary-General of Finance Thomas Schmid has also charged ex-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) with a possible false statement in his case. Kurz had denied having discussed the matter with Schmid before he was appointed sole director of the state investment company ÖBAG. When questioned by the Ministry of Economy and Corruption (WKStA), Schmid emphasized that Kurz was very active.
In June 2020, Kurz was a respondent in the Ibiza inquiry committee. When asked if Schmid intended to become ÖBAG boss, the then chancellor said: “It didn’t come from me, but as far as I can remember, at one point he (Schmid, note) let me know that he apply.”
WKStA determined due to false testimony
The WKStA is now investigating Kurz and his chief of staff Bernhard Bonelli for making false statements and leading the two as accused. Giving false testimony to a parliamentary committee of inquiry can lead to a prison sentence of up to three years if convicted.
“Kurz has supported me in many ways”
“No, that’s not right,” said Schmid zu Kurz’s statement in the U-committee. The planning was “very good” from the ex-chancellor. And even more: “In my opinion, Sebastian Kurz has supported me in this project in several ways. On the one hand, he appreciated my work in the framework of structural reforms and investment management as Secretary General of the Ministry of Finance and communicated this to those around him. He also helped me in the media not to get ‘burnt out’ prematurely by media reports.”
From Schmid’s point of view, Kurz was “much more involved in filling the ÖBAG posts and we regularly exchanged views on these topics, often even basing our discussions on the appointment of the Board of Directors, for example when we discussed the upcoming General Meetings and the proceedings in the fall of 2018 spoke in the spring of 2019 or when I approached him and asked him not to make me a board without mandates”.
Source: Krone
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