Former Austrian leader Sebastian Kurz convicted of making false statements
Former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has been found guilty of providing false statements to a parliamentary inquiry investigating alleged corruption during his initial government tenure. The Vienna criminal court handed him an eight-month suspended sentence following a four-month trial, marking the first trial of a former Austrian chancellor in over three decades.
The trial revolved around Kurz's testimony concerning the establishment of OeBAG, a state-administered holding company, and the appointment of his close associate Thomas Schmid to its leadership. While Judge Michael Radasztics found Kurz guilty of falsely discussing the appointment of the company’s supervisory board, he was acquitted regarding Schmid's appointment.
Kurz, maintaining his innocence, expressed confidence in appealing the verdict, stating he endeavored to testify truthfully. Once a prominent conservative figure in Europe, Kurz resigned in 2021 amidst a separate corruption investigation and has since withdrawn from politics, although his party, the Austrian People’s Party, continues to govern under Chancellor Karl Nehammer.
During the trial, the prosecution argued that Kurz actively supported Schmid's appointment to OeBAG's leadership and signed off on all board candidates to further his agenda, dismissing Kurz's claims of mere awareness of the decision-making process. Additionally, the prosecution alleged that Kurz's false statements aimed to deflect criticism of cronyism, a practice he professed to oppose in Austrian politics
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References to potentially incriminating chat messages retrieved from Schmid's phone were made in the prosecution's indictment, underscoring Schmid's cooperation with investigators. In a poignant closing statement, Kurz expressed frustration at the trial's focus on prosecutorial interpretation rather than his intended meaning during the parliamentary inquiry.
Sebastian Kurz rose to prominence with an anti-immigration stance, assuming leadership of the People’s Party and the chancellorship at just 31 in 2017. His first government collapsed after a scandal involving his vice chancellor. Kurz returned to power in 2020 in a coalition with the Greens but resigned in 2021 amidst mounting legal challenges, denying any wrongdoing in the subsequent investigations.
Kurz's former chief of staff, Bernhard Bonelli, was also convicted in the inquiry and received a six-month suspended sentence for providing false statements regarding his and Kurz's involvement in the OeBAG board selection process. Like Kurz, Bonelli plans to appeal the verdict.
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