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Austrian prosecutors investigating ex-leader of far right over sting video
Source: Reuters
WORLD NEWS JUNE 13, 2019 / 12:02 PM / UPDATED 9 HOURS AGO
Austrian prosecutors investigating ex-leader of far right over sting video
VIENNA (Reuters) - Austrian prosecutors said on Thursday they are investigating former far-right leader Heinz-Christian Strache and others on suspicion of breach of trust in connection with a sting video that forced Strache to quit the coalition government.
Strache stepped down as Austrian vice chancellor and head of the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) on May 18 after German media published secretly filmed footage from a 2017 dinner party at which Strache met a woman posing as a Russian oligarch’s niece.
In the footage, Strache appears to offer to fix state contracts in return for political or financial help. He has acknowledged the video was “catastrophic” but says he did nothing illegal and did not follow through on his comments.
Strache’s lawyer was not immediately available for comment on Thursday.
A spokesman for a prosecutors’ office responsible for economic crimes and corruption said on Thursday it was investigating Strache as well as Johann Gudenus, a former FPO local lawmaker in Vienna who also featured in the video.
-snip-
Austrian prosecutors investigating ex-leader of far right over sting video
VIENNA (Reuters) - Austrian prosecutors said on Thursday they are investigating former far-right leader Heinz-Christian Strache and others on suspicion of breach of trust in connection with a sting video that forced Strache to quit the coalition government.
Strache stepped down as Austrian vice chancellor and head of the far-right Freedom Party (FPO) on May 18 after German media published secretly filmed footage from a 2017 dinner party at which Strache met a woman posing as a Russian oligarch’s niece.
In the footage, Strache appears to offer to fix state contracts in return for political or financial help. He has acknowledged the video was “catastrophic” but says he did nothing illegal and did not follow through on his comments.
Strache’s lawyer was not immediately available for comment on Thursday.
A spokesman for a prosecutors’ office responsible for economic crimes and corruption said on Thursday it was investigating Strache as well as Johann Gudenus, a former FPO local lawmaker in Vienna who also featured in the video.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-austria-politics-strache/austrian-prosecutors-investigating-ex-leader-of-far-right-over-sting-video-idUSKCN1TE2F4
