Former Austrian finance minister on trial in major corruption case
NAN-F-30
Trial
Vienna, Dec. 12, 2017 (dpa/NAN) A large-scale corruption trial started on Tuesday against former Austrian Finance Minister, Karl-Heinz Grasser and 14 others accused of graft amounting to 9.6 million Euros (11 million dollars).
According to the Justice Ministry, the trial at Vienna’s Regional Criminal Court marks the first time that an Austrian minister will be standing trial over corruption charges.
The case centres on the sale of 60,000 state-owned flats to a private investor in 2004.
According to the prosecution, Grasser tipped off the winning bidder about which bidding price would beat rival investors.
In return for this favour, the defendants allegedly received kickbacks worth 10 per cent of the sale prices of 961 million Euros.
Grasser and the accused lobbyists, construction company managers and real estate executives face up to 10 years in prison each.
Grasser served as finance minister from 2000 to 2007.
He was a member of the populist right-wing Freedom Party (FPOe), but had become an independent by the time he oversaw the privatisation of the state-owned homes. (dpa/NAN)
OYE/EMO
========
Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/Ejike Obeta