After hours of pleading between the prosecutor and defense lawyers, Sophie Karmasin has now had her say. The former minister of family and youth affairs must answer to the lay judges in the large courtroom of the Vienna regional court. It involves price fixing and serious fraud.
“Not guilty”, Sophie Karmasin confessed at the beginning of the interrogation and then gave a long introductory statement. “Forgive me for being a little nervous. My four weeks of imprisonment in this building made quite an impression on me,” says the 56-year-old in a firm voice. Looking back, the path to politics was a “wrong step” for her, she says.
Ex-minister admits mistakes
When she resigned as minister, the defendant asked for continued payment: “Yes, I took the issue of continued payment lightly,” she admits to having made mistakes. She saw the lectures as a contribution to the development of a new professional perspective. She regrets her “naive, careless handling of the subject.” However, she refunded the gross amount “although I myself only received the net amount”.
“I already had the job”
In addition to paying wages, the process revolves around orders from the Ministry of Sports, for which the ex-politician is said to have obtained the contract after her political career through illegal price fixing – which her lawyers Norbert Wess and Philipp Wolm strictly rejected.
“I had already received the order,” confirms Karmasin. She had been told it was necessary to get comparison offers for internal documentation. At this point, too, she admits she made mistakes: “I shouldn’t have complied with this request that the client asked me to make,” she said. A department head of the Ministry of Sports is also accused of this.
At this point, too, she admits she made mistakes: “I shouldn’t have complied with this request that the client asked me to make,” she said. A department head of the Ministry of Sports is also accused of this.
Source: Krone
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