Sebastian Kurtz
The offices of the headquarters of the Austrian People's Party (ANP), headed by the country's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, were searched in connection with suspicion of bribery of the media. Die Presse reports.
According to the publication, investigators examined the documentation in the offices of Chancellor Johannes Frischmann, the official representative of the Chancellor, Gerald Fleischmann, an authorized media representative, and Stefan Steiner's adviser. They are accused of bribing the Österreich newspaper to publish materials and polls with positive reviews of the party.
At the same time, Kurz and his associates are also being investigated on charges of complicity in corruption and fraud. The head of the ANP faction in the Austrian parliament, August Weginger, said that the searches and the investigation itself pursue one goal – to cause serious damage to the party and the Austrian chancellor.
On May 12, it became known that Kurz was accused of corruption and perjury in connection with alleged false statements in the parliamentary commission. The statements were made regarding the “Ibiza case” that triggered the government crisis in 2019. The Chancellor declared his innocence and said that even if a criminal case was instituted, he did not plan to resign.
