On Monday, the trial of former FPÖ leader Heinz-Christian Strache in connection with the private hospital financing fund (Prikraf) affair will be repeated at the Vienna Regional Criminal Court. The hearing has been announced for two days. The verdicts are expected to fall on November 24, especially since the evidence procedure only needs to be partially reopened.
Strache was sentenced to 15 months on probation in August 2021 for bribery, and the co-defendant owner of the Währing private clinic, Walter Grubmüller, was sentenced to 12 months probation. However, the conviction was overturned by the Higher Regional Court in August.
The proceedings were about a suspected law purchase in connection with the private clinic of Währing, the operator of the clinic had donated a total of 12,000 euros to the federal FPÖ.
Both Strache and Grubmüller, who had pleaded not guilty from the start, appealed against their convictions, which was followed by the Vienna Higher Regional Court (OLG). The first judgment was “contradictory and incomprehensible” on some parts (see video above), some exculpatory chat messages were not appreciated enough, according to the OLG. That is why a new trial was ordered, to which several witnesses have now been invited again.
Acquittals in another trial
The “Prikraf” trial was the start of criminal proceedings against Heinz-Christian Strache and the first court hearing after the Ibiza affair, which famously blew up the turquoise blue government. It remains to be seen if Strache can breathe easily. Because the next black accusation clouds, which are called “FPÖ spending affair”, are rising.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
