A corrupt MEP caught by a British newspaper offering to propose amendments to EU laws in exchange for 100,000 euros a year has been given a three-year-jail term. Austrian Ernst Strasser, 58, also a former interior minister of Austria, was originally given a four-year term in 2013 after he was filmed by reporters from the […]
Tag: Court
A Romanian escort girl has on Friday been sentenced to two years in prison by a Salzburg Regional Court after she was found guilty of tricking a Canadian man out of 230,000 EUR. The woman, who has a PhD degree in nuclear physics and was living in Austria, was broke when she met the man […]
By Rob Hyde Customers must be able to access a cigarette-free zone in pubs and restaurants without having to first pass through a smoking area says the VwGH. The Higher Administrative Court (VwGH), said that people who visit bars and eateries should not have to be exposed to a smoky atmosphere before they reach a […]
No Buwog compensation hearing till Autumn
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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 […]
Spa hotel to employ jester
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A spa hotel is looking to take on a court jester to make guests feel like kings. The Rogner Bad Blumau spa in Styria says it wants someone creative, musical and fun dressed up “in the right gear with a flute or a lute”. Director Melanie Franke said: “At the royal courts, jesters were a […]
Vienna Uni: Budget deficit shocker
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The University of Vienna finished the last academic year with an unexpected deficit of 15 million Euros. Rector Heinz Engl said it had budgeted for a loss of 8 million but that the Constitutional Court’s decision to suspend student fees had blown the budget to pieces. The university had a positive balance in 2010 and […]
Berrys Fake Agents 150k Con
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Eccentric celebrity-mad multi-millionaire Richard Lugner was conned out of 150,000 GBP by fraudster claiming to be Halle Berry’s manager, a court has heard. Tycoon Lugner – infamous for inviting celebs to Austria’s annual Vienna Opera Ball – had been negotiating with the conwoman to bring the Hollywood actress to the city as his guest at […]
Court rejects Strasser’s allegations
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The legal charges made against “Upper Austrian News (OÖN) by the former Interior Minister Ernst Strasser (ÖVP) were rejected. Mr Strasser charged the newspaper due to their reporting of the lobbying affair for slander. The former politician considered two articles of the OÖN to have damaged his reputation. The newspaper wanted to establish the facts […]
AKH hospital under fire over costs
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Due to a non-transparent personnel structure, high absences of employees and exploding costs, the administration of the Vienna General Hospital (AKH) is not efficient, an audit court report stated. The audit report, which has been confidential up to now, will become the most important issue at the city senate meeting next week. The existing shortcomings […]
Robin Hood shoe maker back in court
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The Constitutional Court (VfGH) has rebuffed Heinrich Staudinger, the shoe and furniture producer from Waldviertel (Lower Austria). The businessman believes that businesses should be independent from bank loans and freed from debt. The examination of his complaint was rejected. Since 1999, Mr Staudinger has been able to collect 3 million euros from family, friends and […]