The Vienna Superior Court upheld an appeal and acquitted former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz in a case involving false testimony before a parliamentary committee investigating corruption, Austrian media reported on Monday.
The decision of the Vienna Regional Court, which in February 2024 sentenced Kurz to eight months’ suspended imprisonment, has been overturned. However, the sentence handed down to Kurz’s former cabinet chief Bernhard Bonelli, who was sentenced to six months’ suspended imprisonment in the same case, remains in force.
After the court hearing, Kurz spoke to reporters. The politician said that he had been falsely accused for many years and was glad that it was all over. At the same time, he deeply regretted that the judge had not acquitted Bonelli.
The trial against Kurz began in October 2023. The Public Prosecutor’s Office for Economic Crime and Corruption suspected him of giving false testimony during a parliamentary investigation into the appointment of the management of the state investment holding company OeBAG. Kurz claimed that he had no influence on the selection process for the holding company’s management.
Kurz took office as chancellor in December 2017, becoming the youngest head of government in Europe at the time, aged 31. In May 2019, the government was voted out of office over the “IbizaGate” scandal. The politician resigned, but returned after early parliamentary elections. In October 2021, he announced his resignation again after allegations of corruption.
