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There is no “doubt” that the award of the federal apartments to a consortium consisting of Immofinanz and Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich was “a breach of duty”. This is proven by numerous testimonies and documents, Hohenecker said yesterday. According to the judge, only Grasser could be considered an informant on the turning point of who had revealed to Immofinanz how much competitor CA Immo would pay for the Buwog and other federal apartments. According to the judge, it has been verified that Grasser knew the amount of CA Immo’s financing commitment. Walter Meischberger’s statements that he had received the information from the now deceased Governor of Carinthia, Jörg Haider, were purely a protective claim that was only chosen because Haider could no longer be questioned.
Quotes
“The jury senate could not withstand the enormous pressure to condemn media bias, unique in the Second Republic, due to thousands of negative reports in the media.”
Manfred Ainedter, Grasser’s attorney
“It clearly shows that there is no place for such machinations in Austria. However, due to the long duration of the proceedings, the verdict appears quite severe. “
Florian Beckermann, Member of the Board of the VAT Interest Group
“It is an incredible error in judgment that Meischberger was found guilty of when in doubt. We will take the issues of bias from the presiding judge and video surveillance of defenders in the courtroom before the European Court of Human Rights. This process is far from over. “
Jörg Zabel, lawyer
“We take note of the judgment of first instance, but we still cannot give an assessment because we have to wait for the execution in writing. We have made great efforts to significantly strengthen internal control systems. “
RLB OÖ statement
“From their point of view, CA Immo is wrongly inferior as a co-bidder in this privatization process. The announced criminal sentences may support the illegality and partiality of the privatization process in the compensation process. “
CA Immo Statement
“Today, not only the Greens we think of Gabi Moser, who died too soon, with her extraordinary perseverance.”
Werner Kogler, Vice Chancellor
Press reviews
Karl-Heinz Grasser was corrupt. His conviction is important to the country. It means a turning point for Austria. The long-standing doubts about the major privatization and takeover decisions that passed over the desk of the then finance minister are now based on a fair trial and not speculation. The sentence is also important for the delayed pacification of the judicial authorities, which have been divided by allegations of partiality ”.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
“One of the most important corruption trials in Austria ended with a thunderclap for the main accused. Grasser was considered an exceptional political talent with a glamor factor, his marriage to Fiona Swarovski, the heiress of the crystal company, made him a favorite of the boulevard. The verdicts against him are devastating: the court considers it proven that Grasser caused damage to the Republic of Austria by breach of trust, acceptance of gifts and falsification of evidence. “
Southgerman’s newspaper
“The Austrian system is susceptible to a figure like Karl-Heinz Grasser. The once impetuous minister was a master of the economics of friendship. In some respects, this culture is still alive in Austria, even if it is no longer as extreme as when Grasser was finance minister. But the spheres of economics and politics in the neighboring country are still too intertwined. Greater internationalization of management teams in companies would help loosen the mess. “
The New Zurich Times
