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Donation allegations against Strache at the public prosecutor’s office

The Vienna Public Prosecutor’s Office is investigating a donation allegation against ex-FPÖ boss Heinz-Christian Strache. According to an anonymous report available to the APA, the latter is said to have induced an entrepreneur to provide him with 600,000 euros for the Vienna election campaign. In order to avoid declaring it as a donation, the amount is said to have gone to a protective mask manufacturer. Both Strache and the company management deny this. The donor now allegedly wants his money back.

Strache is said to have been friends with the entrepreneur for a long time and approached him in the summer of 2020 about an election donation. In order to avoid reporting to the Court of Auditors, he asked the man to transfer the amount – it could also be a loan – to the account of the masking company, according to the anonymous report. Strache himself should be involved in the company and receive fees.

According to the advertisement, there is also a connection with the Serbian nonwovens manufacturer in which Strache is involved. The 600,000 euros could have flowed directly into this commitment, it is speculated in the presentation of the facts. The entrepreneur who donated should now demand his money back because the amount did not go into the – ultimately unsuccessful – Vienna election campaign.

The general secretary of Team HC, Christian Höbart, referred the allegations made in the advertisement to the realm of myths. In a written statement after consulting Strache himself, the APA said: “There was not a single agreement of any kind between the HC Strache team and this gentleman, and therefore no loan agreement.” The managing director of the local mask company also denied the allegation made in the ad.

In any case, the public prosecutor’s office confirmed the receipt of the statement of facts. This is currently being examined, it said on APA request. It is currently unclear whether concrete investigative steps will be initiated, the case will be handed over to the Economic and Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, or the complaint will be filed.

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