The so-called Cobra affair made a big fuss last year: two bodyguards of Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) allegedly caused an accident with their company car while drunk. Nehammer himself was also listed as a suspect in the case. The Korneuburg Public Prosecutor’s Office has now stopped all investigations.
In addition to the chancellor, the legal system itself also targeted Cobra boss Bernhard Treibenreif and other top officials of the special police unit. In August, the completed planning report from the public prosecutor’s office was sent to Alma Zadic’s (Greens) Ministry of Justice, which had to decide whether to file charges against him.
Suspicion of abuse of office not justified
Even then, insiders said anonymous allegations of abuse of office were unlikely to be substantiated and would be dropped. That is now the case, the spokesperson for the Korneuburg Public Prosecution Service confirmed on Tuesday. The relevant employment announcements have already been sent to those involved this week.
The case was investigated for a year and a half. Nehammer’s request to stop the procedure was rejected by the Vienna Supreme Court (OLG) in the spring. The case involves two Cobra officers who, while drunk, allegedly caused an accident with sheet metal damage in their company car after working with the chancellor’s wife.
Anonymous writing fueled the cause
In a parliamentary question, the SPÖ published an anonymous letter from an alleged Cobra insider, making accusations that the Chancellor may have intervened in the case to cover up what was going on – which Nehammer himself rejected as untrue.
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.
