Former Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) leader Heinz-Christian Strache is set to return to court as prosecutors bring fresh charges in the long-running Casinos Austria case, following seven years of investigations into alleged political influence in the country’s gambling sector.
This case revolves around the appointment of Vienna FPÖ politician Peter Sidlo as CFO of Casinos Austria in the spring of 2019. Back then, the FPÖ was one of Austria’s two major political parties.
At that time, allegations surfaced that Sidlo lacked the necessary qualifications for the role. Later that year, the supervisory board removed him from the position. Although Sidlo filed a lawsuit, he ultimately lost at the Supreme Court level.
Indeed, the accusation is that Novomatic and Strache made a deal. The company allegedly used its influence over Casinos Austria to secure Sidlo’s appointment as CFO and, in exchange, Novomatic sought involvement in the allocation of gambling licences and reforms.
The charges from Central Public Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Economic Crimes and Corruption (WKStA) claimed that Strache was willing to be influenced in his future role as a public official in favour of the Novomatic Group.
This included plans to introduce government bills, vote in accordance with those interests in the Council of Ministers and participate in negotiations on the formulation of general government policy.
Alongside Strache, two executives from Novomatic have also been indicted. The charges include accepting advantages for the purpose of influence. The maximum penalty for all defendants is up to two years imprisonment.
Strache and Novomatic both described the charges as incomprehensible after they became public, and all parties involved are expected to plead not guilty
