Ex-minister Sophie Karmasin is on trial for serious fraud

Date:

The trial against ex-minister Sophie Karmasin (ÖVP) and a co-defendant head of department of the Ministry of Sports will start on Tuesday at the Vienna Regional Court. Now that Karmasin, a first person from the political circle of ex-chancellor Sebastian Kurz, is on trial, investigations against other ex-ÖVP officials from Kurz onwards are pending. The trial for serious fraud and anti-competitive measures in procurement procedures lasts three days.

The negotiations are not yet about Karmasin’s role in the ÖVP survey affair, but about continued payments and anti-competitive agreements. After leaving politics, Karmasin allegedly obtained continued pay by concealing from employees of the Federal Chancellery that she would continue to work independently after her term as Minister of Family Affairs. Suspected is 78,589.95 euros, which Karmasin would have wrongly received from December 19, 2017 to May 22, 2018.

The second complex of indictments relates to three investigations for the Ministry of Sports, for which Karmasin was awarded the contract after leaving politics by, according to the indictment, inducing two competitors – including her former employee Sabine Beinschab – to “disclose the specified content to be carried out”. by it and with it in advance to pass on agreed offers to the customers to ensure that Karmasin Research & Identity GmbH, attributable to them, would receive the orders” (complaint).

There was a threat of three years in prison
If convicted, Karmasin and the co-defendant at the ministry official, who was disbarred after the charges were filed, face up to three years in prison. The presumption of innocence applies to both. If Karmasin is found guilty, the time she spent in custody would count towards her sentence. The ex-minister was arrested on March 2, 2022 and taken into custody two days later due to the risk of committing a crime. It was only on March 28 that the Higher Regional Court (OLG) in Vienna followed up on a complaint from its lawyers Norbert Wess and Philipp Wolm – Karmasin had to spend 26 days in a cell.

Source: Krone

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Share post:

Subscribe

Popular

More like this
Related