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Three years after the start of the trial, the verdict against former finance minister Karl-Heinz Grasser and 14 other defendants will be announced in Vienna’s criminal district court. Live “press” reports from the Vienna criminal court.
The long-awaited day has dawned for the delivery of the verdict in the largest corruption trial in Austrian judicial history: today Judge Marion Hohenecker will announce the Senate jury decisions in the “Buwog” and “Terminal Tower” criminal cases. The scene of the action: the great courtroom of the jury in the Vienna Regional Court of Criminal Affairs, also known as the largest courtroom in the republic. Recipients of the sentence: former Finance Minister Karl-Heinz Grasser (who faces up to ten years in prison if convicted) and 13 other defendants. The schedule: from 10:30 am
The negotiations took place in the Gray House for 169 days. Mountains of minutes were made, witnesses were heard, defendants were heard, a partial (controversial) confession made by lobbyist Peter Hochegger. An “espionage attack” had to be dealt with as well as a “Twitter affair” – and finally the already lengthy indictment (Attorney Generals Gerald Denk and Alexander Marchart’s document included 825 pages of printed paper at the beginning of the trial on 12 December 2017) extended by two issues. It is not surprising, therefore, that the verdict takes several hours, as the court anticipated.
What is it specifically about?
The economy and corruption prosecutor’s office accuses the youngest finance minister of the republic during his time in the black and blue government as a result of the Privatization of federal departments (a bundle of Buwog, ESG Villach, WAG and EBS) in 2004 “recorded”. He is said to have pursued a corresponding “criminal plan” together with co-defendant public relations strategists Walter Meischberger and Hochegger, as well as real estate agent Ernst Karl Plech. With the exception of Hochegger, who seriously incriminates Grasser, those named vehemently deny the allegations and plead “not guilty.”
The situation in the case is similar Terminal tower: It is said that bribes came to the tower of the Linz terminal for renting the financial services of Upper Austria.
It wasn’t until 2018 that the complex became Telekom / Valora incorporated into the negotiation. The reason: subjective connection with “Buwog” defendants Hochegger and Meischberger (note: Grasser is not a suspect in this matter and therefore did not have to appear in court on trial days). The indictment: It is said that part of the management team of the state-owned Telekom Austria formed black coffers together with Hochegger through his company Valora from 2004 to 2008 to be able to vote for politicians, that is, to “feed” them if necessary. To shed light on the darkness, former Telekom board member Rudolf Fischer and former ÖVP employee and Telekom manager Michael F. were summoned to the dock. The latter has already been legally acquitted of the money laundering charge.
The case “town“There is only one defendant here: Meischberger. He, according to his own statements, probably the” world’s most famous best man “(namely that of Grasser), owned a property in Vienna-Döbling, but had to hand it over to a financier to pay off his tax debts. These had arisen because he, like Hochegger, submitted a voluntary disclosure in September 2009 because he had not paid taxes on the commission he received as part of the Buwog privatization. prosecutors, Meischberger made false statements to the Döbling District Court and thus not only delayed the sale of the house until 2015, but also deprived the buying company of considerable rental income. He denies, like the other accusations, for him, as for everyone else, the presumption of innocence applies.
The live ticker starts at 10:30 am:
