The acquittal for former FPÖ leader and vice-chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache is now legally binding in the Prikraf case regarding a suspected law purchase to include the Vienna-Währing private clinic in the funding fund.
The Public Ministry of Economic Affairs and Corruption has withdrawn its appeal, the Vienna Criminal Court confirmed on Friday. The process had already had to be repeated after an objection from the Vienna Higher Regional Court (OLG).
No evidence of corruption
In addition to Strache, the operator of the private clinic Walter Grubmüller has now been legally acquitted. The court, after repeating the evidence, saw no evidence of corruption. The WKStA suspected that at the time Grubmüller had bought an unsolicited application from the opposition to include all private clinics in the Private Hospital Fund (Prikraf) for donations to the FPÖ totaling €12,000 – which was pointless in parliamentary practice.
Strache and Grubmüller were initially sentenced to suspended prison terms. However, the Higher Regional Court found numerous shortcomings in the procedure. Not least on this basis, both suspects were acquitted in January.
Strache’s lawyer Johann Pauer welcomed the development of APA. The written verdict reiterated what had already been discussed in detail in the oral verdict, “namely that there is no doubt about my client’s acquittal”.
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.
