Austrian Chancellor Kurz said on the 12th that he is under investigation by the Austrian Economic and Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, but he will not resign.
Kurz announced before the day’s cabinet meeting that he and his chief of staff Bonelli are now being investigated by the Office of the Prosecutor for Economic and Corruption as suspects for allegedly making false statements to a parliamentary committee investigating the “Ibiza scandal”.
According to Austrian media reports, when questioned about a key appointment of the Austrian State Investment Corporation, Kurz’s answer was “uninformed”, while the opposition concluded against other material that Kurz was “informed” and therefore filed charges with the Office of the Prosecutor for Economics and Corruption.
Mr Kurtz said he had just been informed of the preliminary investigation process, but would not resign even if criminal proceedings were instituted by the Office of the Prosecutor for Economic and Corruption.
According to media reports, in May 2019 in a luxury villa in Ibiza, Spain, then Austria’s deputy prime minister and chairman of the Freedom Party, Straach was forced to resign after videos of alleged “profiteering” with wealthy Russian businessmen came to light. Then-Prime Minister Kurtz immediately announced the end of the ruling coalition between the BJP and the Liberal Party, early elections.
Kurz was later ousted by parliament over a no-confidence motion against him. Kurz became prime minister again after winning early elections to the National Assembly in September 2019, when the BJP won the first major party in the National Assembly.
