A court in Vienna has found former Austrian Vice-chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache guilty of bribery and corruption, British broadcaster BBC reports.
Two years ago, Heinz-Christian Strache was Austria’s Vice-chancellor, Minister of the Civil Service and Sport and the leader of the right-wing Austrian Freedom Party. His downfall began with a video sting on the holiday island of Ibiza.
Strache, currently 52, was seen promising public contracts to a woman posing as a Russian oligarch’s niece in exchange for electoral support. Strache denied wrongdoing, but the revelations paved the way for a series of corruption investigations.
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The influential politician was accused of helping to change a law so a friend and donor to his party could secure public funding for his private health clinic. Late last week Strache was found guilty of bribery and corruption by a court in Vienna, giving him a 15-month suspended jail sentence, BBC reports.
Austrian ex-Vice-chancellor convicted of bribery
