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According to an anonymous ad, the businessmen are said to have transferred an election campaign donation of more than 600,000 euros to a protective mask company.
The Vienna Public Prosecutor’s Office is investigating a donation accusation against the former head of the FPÖ, Heinz-Christian Strache. According to an anonymous report available to the APA, the latter is said to have persuaded a businessman to provide him with 600,000 euros for the Vienna election campaign. To avoid declaring it as a donation, the amount is said to have gone to a manufacturer of protective masks. Both Strache and the company’s management deny this. The donor now supposedly wants his money back.
Anonymous ad
Strache is said to have been friends with the businessman for a long time and reached out to him in the summer of 2020 about an election donation. To avoid informing the Court of Auditors, he asked the man to transfer the amount, it could also be a loan, to the account of the masking company, according to the anonymous report. Strache himself should be involved in the business and receive fees.
According to the announcement, there is also a connection to the Serbian nonwoven manufacturer in which Strache is involved. The 600,000 euros could have poured directly into this commitment, it is speculated in the presentation of the facts. The businessman who donated now should demand that we return his money because the amount did not go to the Vienna election campaign, which was ultimately unsuccessful.
Team HC rejects the accusations
The general secretary of Team HC, Christian Höbart, referred the complaints made in the announcement to the realm of myths. In a written statement after consulting Strache himself, the APA said: “There was not a single agreement of any kind between the HC Strache team and this gentleman, and therefore no loan agreement.” The managing director of the local mask company also denied the allegation made in the ad.
In any case, the Public Ministry confirmed the arrival of the statement of facts. This is currently under review, he said at the request of the APA. It is currently unclear if concrete investigative actions will be initiated, if the case will be handed over to the Economic and Corruption Prosecutor’s Office or if the complaint will be filed.
