Vienna, 18 August 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Austria's former chancellor Sebastian Kurz has been charged on suspicion of making false statements, the Economic and Corruption Prosecutor's Office (WKStA) announced on Friday in Vienna.

The charges relate to statements made by the 36-year-old in an investigation committee set up by the Austrian parliament to look into an influence-peddling scandal relating to his former coalition partner.

In the committee, Kurz had in June 2020 downplayed his role in the appointment of the head of the state-owned holding company ÖBAG, Thomas Schmid. He had been informed about the decision in advance, but had not been involved further, according to his statement at the time.

Based on chat messages, however, the public prosecutor's office assumes that the former head of government was very much involved in the choice of staff.

Kurz and Schmid appear to have regularly exchanged views on the subject from mid-2017 at the latest.

Kurz has always vehemently denied the accusations. "The accusations are false and we look forward to when the truth finally comes to light and the accusations also prove to be baseless in court," Kurz wrote on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

It came as little surprise to him and his team that the authority had nevertheless decided to file a criminal complaint despite 30 exonerating witness statements.

The WKStA had been investigating Kurz on suspicion of making false statements since the spring of 2021 after a complaint by the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) and liberal NEOS.

According to the authority, the range of punishment for the offence charged is up to three years in prison.

Kurz may also face charges in the so-called advertisement affair. This involves embellished polls and government advertisements in tabloid newspapers, which are alleged to have been paid for with taxpayers' money.

Several people are being investigated in the case on suspicion of embezzlement, bribery and corruptibility. Here, too, Kurz denies the allegations.

The former head of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), once a highly touted hopeful for conservatives across Europe, has twice headed a coalition in Austria.

From 2017 to 2019, Kurz led an alliance of the ÖVP and the far-right Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ). From 2020 to 2021, he was head of government of a coalition of the ÖVP and the Greens.

In view of the accusations, he initially resigned from his posts in the autumn of 2021. In December 2021, he announced his complete departure from politics. In the meantime, he has become an entrepreneur and lobbyist.

The first investigations were triggered by the so-called Ibiza affair. In a video secretly recorded on the vacation island, the then FPÖ leader Heinz-Christian Strache had appeared susceptible to corruption.

The ÖVP and FPÖ coalition broke up over the affair in 2019.

In the search for evidence of nepotism and corruption at the time Kurz was in government, the cell phone of former ÖBAG boss Schmid played a central role.

More than 300,000 chats - often deemed incriminating by prosecutors - were a treasure trove for investigators.

Schmid offered himself as a key witness in the affair and repeatedly incriminated Kurz, with whom he maintained a close relationship.

The trial against Kurz is set to begin on October 18. Two more days of hearings are scheduled for October 20 and 23, a spokeswoman for the Regional Court announced on Friday.

According to the court, besides Kurz, his former head of cabinet Bernhard Bonelli and the former general director of Casinos Austria, Bettina Glatz-Kremsner, will also be called.

The file comprises several boxes, the criminal complaint more than 100 pages, said the court.

Photo: MIA archive