The pollster Sabine Beinschab, accused in the course of the ÖVP survey scandal, has now officially been given leniency status. According to information from the “Presse”, the former assistant of Sophie Karmasin has made a deal with the Ministry of Economy and Corruption (WKStA). He had applied for leniency in the spring and now the senior prosecutor’s office and the Ministry of Justice have agreed to the request, the newspaper said.
Beinschab’s statements in the ÖVP inquiry affair are intended to help the WKStA take ex-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) and his entourage to justice. The controversial pollster was arrested in October. The former assistant to ex-minister Sophie Karmasin is accused of infidelity – she is alleged to have submitted false invoices to the Ministry of Finance and possibly destroyed evidence.
The arrest of Beinschabs took place in the context of the corruption investigation into surveys for parts of the ÖVP in 2016. The opinion researcher is seen as a possible central figure in the survey affair. It’s about supposedly fake surveys in which Sebastian Kurz was particularly positive and ex-Vice Chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner particularly negative. Later, these investigations would have appeared in a free newspaper for (tax) money.
Lawyers were skeptical
Experts considered a leniency program for Beinschab unlikely, as they are already under investigation. “She should have said in advance that she was involved and wanted to unpack,” said Viennese lawyer Stefan Prochaska about “Krone”. Coercive measures (raid, interrogation) had already been applied to the interviewer. The Justice Department clearly saw things differently and found that Beinschab had news to report (such as Karmasin’s involvement, fake offers) and also voluntarily taxed himself.
Allegations of breach of trust and bribery
Beinschab is accused of infidelity and bribery as participants. Together with her colleague Sophie Karmasin, she is said to have conducted ramped-up investigations in favor of ÖVP leader Sebastian Kurz and submitted false bills that have been forced on the Ministry of Finance. Beinschab is the founder of the market research institute Research Affairs, which has been conducting the surveys for the media group “Austria” for many years.
Source: Krone
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