No Buwog compensation hearing till Autumn

By Rob Hyde in Vienna

Former Immofinanz director Kark Petrikovics and ex-lobbyist Peter Hochegger are set to appear in court in a row over illegal commissions from the sale of state owned properties.

The hearing, centred around the alleged commissions received of 9.9 million Euro paid during the privatisation of construction giant, Buwog, are now due to take place on 24th October this year.

Petrikovics, who was sentenced for six year imprisonment in the court of first instance (meaning the verdict is not legally binding), is to give evidence before his former employees do the same.

Here other members of staff and colleagues of both Petrikovics, Christian Thornton and Martina Postl are also scheduled to appear.

In 2004 Hochegger is alleged to have been commissioned by the so-called Austrian consortium of major banks and credit institutes (Immofinanz, Wiener Städtischer, Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich (RLB OÖ), Oberösterreichischer Landesbank and Oberösterreichischer Versicherung) to work as a lobbyist during the privatisation of Buwog.

He is alleged to have received 9.9 million Euro for this.

Also due to give evidence include state of former finance minister, Karl-Heinz Grasser, such as ex-cabinet leader Heinrich Traumüller and ex-Immofinanz supervisory board president, Helmut Schwager.