The impetus for the investigation was a statement of facts submitted by ex-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP). The Linz public prosecutor’s office then initiated an investigation – which it is now handing over to the WKStA.
The Linz public prosecutor’s office has transferred an investigation against the former Secretary General in the Ministry of Finance, Thomas Schmid, to the Economic and Corruption Public Prosecutor’s Office (WKStA) on suspicion of giving false witness statements in the Postenschacher trial against ÖVP club boss August Wöginger. A spokeswoman for the WKStA confirmed this. The WKStA is the very authority that applied for leniency status for Thomas Schmid. Now the authority is checking its jurisdiction.
The impetus for the investigation was a statement of facts submitted by ex-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP). In it, Kurz’s lawyer accuses Schmid of having misrepresented the situation in the Postenschacher trial, which concerns the appointment of the head of the Braunau tax office. The issue in the process was also the earlier occupation of the tax office in Freistadt. Schmid testified at the trial in Linz that he had heard “little to nothing” about this. However, an official in the Ministry of Finance reported during the trial in Linz that there had already been rumors of attempts by Schmid to intervene on behalf of the mayor, who later came to the Braunau tax office.
After attempts to intervene in the occupation of the Freistadt tax office were unsuccessful, the mayor was promised that he would be involved in the next occupation – that was the position for Braunau. Another tax official called as a witness reported that, at Schmid’s behest, he called the person best placed in the hearing for the executive chair in Freistadt and asked him not to take up the position. (APA)
About the report Crown newspaper
