Austria: According to the report, the previous government was in a »dependent relationship« with a gambling company

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Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) is not exonerated by the report of a parliamentary investigation

Photo: Lisa Leutner / AP

The final report of a parliamentary investigation in Austria increases the pressure on Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP).

As the news agency APA quoted from the not yet public paper, there was a "mutual dependency relationship" between the previous government from the ÖVP and FPÖ and the gaming group Novomatic.

The extremely close bond between the two parties and the Austrian group "enabled Novomatic to have a say in the area of ​​gaming and the prospect of a desired amendment to the gaming law," says the 870-page report.

Close relationship - but no specific "deal"

Government representatives had remarkably regular and intensive exchanges with Novomatic.

However, according to ORF, a specific "deal" between the government and the company could not be determined with certainty.

According to the broadcaster, the focus of the investigations was the alleged granting of gaming licenses in return for the fact that the FPÖ politician Peter Sidlo was elected to the board of directors of Casinos Austria AG (CASAG).

The committee of inquiry was set up to uncover possible corruption during the right-wing conservative coalition from 2017 to 2019.

According to ORF, the individual parliamentary groups now have two weeks to express their views on the surveys in their own reports.

Then the final report will be dealt with in the National Council.

The document has yet to be adopted by Parliament, but it can no longer be amended.

The Ibiza Committee was triggered by a secretly recorded video from 2017 in which the then right-wing FPÖ leader Heinz-Christian Strache spoke on the Spanish holiday island about questionable political donation flows and possible political influence on the economy and the media.

After the recordings were published in May 2019, the coalition led by Chancellor Kurz collapsed.

After new elections, Kurz formed an alliance with the Greens that currently governs Austria.

ÖVP and FPÖ have repeatedly denied allegations that there had been clashes during their joint reign.

In parallel to parliament, the judiciary investigates politicians from both parties.

Kurz is currently threatened with indictment himself for allegedly giving false testimony to the investigative committee.

fek / dpa