Austria: Former vice chancellor convicted of corruption
A Vienna court has convicted a former Austrian vice chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache of corruption for trying to change laws to favor a private hospital in exchange for donations to his party
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
A Vienna court has convicted former Austrian Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache of corruption for trying to change laws to favor a private hospital in exchange for donations to his political party.
Austrian public broadcaster ORF reported Friday that the ex-leader of the far-right Freedom Party received a 15-month suspended prison sentence for accepting two bribes totaling 12,000 euros ($14,100).
Strache, who served as vice chancellor from 2017 to 2019, had pleaded not guilty to the charges. He can appeal the verdict.
Strache was the central figure in the fall of a previous Austrian government, a coalition of Chancellor Sebastian Kurz s conservative Austrian People’s Party and the Freedom Party.
In May 2019, a video emerged showing Strache, the-Freedom Party's leader at the time, offering favors to a purported Russian investor. The recording prompted Kurz to pull the plug on the national government. Strache, who denied any wrongdoing, was later kicked out of the Freedom Party.
Kurz returned to power last year in a new coalition with the environmentalist Greens.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.