It was one of the first causes that the Ibiza video triggered. The WKStA suspected a link between the appointment of Peter Sidlo to the board of Casinos Austria and Thomas Schmid to the ÖBAG boss. On Thursday it was announced that the investigations against Schmid, Löger and Sidlo had been stopped. Heinz-Christian Strache and Novomatic remain the center of attention of the authorities.
The Public Prosecution Service for Economic and Corruption (WKStA) has stopped its investigation against several active and former politicians in the Casag complex. In concrete terms, this concerns the appointment of FPÖ-affiliated manager Peter Sidlo as a member of the board of directors of Casinos Austria AG.
In addition to Sidlo, former Finance Minister Hartwig Löger (ÖVP), State Secretary Hubert Fuchs, General Secretary Thomas Schmid and FPÖ politician Johann Gudenus were suspected of bribery. However, the investigation into this case is still ongoing.
Pröll: “Incomprehensible to me”
According to the latest information, related investigations against former Vice Chancellor, Finance Minister and ÖVP leader Josef Pröll have also been stopped. A spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service for Economic Affairs and Corruption did not confirm or deny this when asked. Pröll said in a statement that he was not interviewed during the investigation. “The anonymous accusations against me are baseless. “It is incomprehensible to me how a procedure can take so long without making any relevant progress,” Pröll said in the written statement.
Accusation of an agreement between ÖVP and FPÖ
The case surrounding the partly state-owned company Casinos Austria AG (CASAG) concerns a suspected deal within the turquoise blue government in the gambling sector. The case has been under investigation since June 2019 following an anonymous complaint. The accusation: There would have been an ÖVP-FPÖ agreement to send Sidlo, who is close to the FPÖ, to the Casag board on a ticket from CASAG co-owner Novomatic – although he would have had few qualifications for this position . In return, the FPÖ would, among other things, have given the signal to accommodate possible changes in the law in the field of small-scale gambling after the elections in Vienna.
Further investigation against Strache and Novomatic
However, the WKStA has not stopped the procedure completely. For example, the vice chancellor under Turquoise Blue, Heinz-Christian Strache, and a gaming company – apparently Novomatic – are still being investigated. Despite the settings, the WKStA continues to conclude: “There was most likely an agreement between the FPÖ and the private gaming company. Part of such an agreement was in any case the appointment of the agreed candidate as a board member of CASAG.”
After four years of investigation, at least for Peter Sidlo, the investigation into the case is now coming to an end. About a year ago, Sidlo went on the attack: he was exposed to enormous psychological stress as a result of the accusations. His lawyer Dietmar Bachmann submitted a request for dismissal in February last year.
Numerous witnesses had testified, but no one knew of any intervention on Sidlo’s behalf. Even Thomas Schmid, who made a contrite confession, could not substantiate his suspicions. Schmid explained during his interrogation that he was “not aware of any Novomatic-FPÖ deal, and that he was not aware of any criminal guilt in this context.”
The reason for the stoppage given by the WKStA was that no criminal responsibility could be attributed to the individual suspect.
Source: Krone
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