Former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz was formally charged with providing false testimony to a parliamentary committee investigating government corruption.
White collar investigators at Austria’s Justice Ministry said Friday that Kurz could face as many as three years in jail if found guilty, according to an emailed statement. Authorities had been probing statements made by Kurz in relation to the appointment of executives to the state holding company OeBAG.
“The allegations are false and we look forward to the truth finally coming to light, and that the accusations can be proved unfounded in court,” Kurz said Friday in a statement on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, before the charges were announced.
Prosecutors started investigating Kurz’s parliamentary remarks while he was still chancellor. The former leader of Austria’s ruling center-right People’s Party resigned in 2021 amid separate accusations that he used taxpayer money to plant fabricated opinion polls in a tabloid newspaper to help his rise to power.
Since leaving politics, Kurz, 36, has been a global strategist for tech-investor Thiel Capital.
The investigations are part of a wide-ranging corruption scandal in Austria that following a leaked video showing former far-right leader Heinz-Christian Strache discussing party financing in the Spanish resort of Ibiza.
Speaking at a press conference in Salzburg on Friday, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said Kurz’s indictment would be an opportunity for those involved to clear themselves.
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