Indictment in the Wienwert Case Final
In February, former Wienwert CEO Stefan Gruze filed an objection against the indictment, which was rejected, as the Vienna Higher Regional Court announced in a press release on Wednesday. When the case will be heard at the Vienna Regional Criminal Court is still open. There is no specific trial date yet, as stated in response to an APA inquiry.
Wienwert Case: Former CEO Charged with Serious Fraud
The Economic and Corruption Prosecutor's Office (WKStA) accuses him, among other things, of serious commercial fraud, breach of trust, and fraudulent insolvency. The WKStA has been investigating since 2017, and the following year the real estate development company Wienwert had to file for bankruptcy. The main victims were investors who had subscribed to the company's bonds.
Specifically, Gruze is said to have promoted the Wienwert company as an economically successful enterprise while concealing its insolvency. Additionally, the prosecutor's office accuses him of deceiving investors with false information about the use of bond funds.
Furthermore, Gruze is alleged to have damaged the company's assets by, for example, settling private liabilities or arranging unjustified bonus payments to himself. He is also said to have set aside the company's assets, thereby thwarting or preventing the satisfaction of creditors, according to the Higher Regional Court's statement.
Former Vienna ÖVP Head Mahrer and SPÖ Politician Nevrivy Indicted
In addition to Gruze, his two predecessors Nikos Bakirzoglu and Wolfgang Sedelmayer, a fourth former Wienwert employee, former Vienna ÖVP chief Karl Mahrer and his wife, as well as Vienna SPÖ municipal politician Ernst Nevrivy will also have to answer in court. Among the other defendants is the now insolvent entrepreneur Klemens Hallmann.
According to the more than 300-page indictment from February, Mahrer and his wife are accused of contributing to breach of trust. The PR consulting company run by Mahrer's wife allegedly received a total of 84,000 euros from Wienwert over a period of seven months without providing corresponding services. Mahrer, who was then the Deputy Police President of Vienna and later an ÖVP National Council member, had no legal relationship with the company, but in connection with the payments from Wienwert, he repeatedly appeared on behalf of the PR agency.
Nevrivy allegedly exchanged information for football tickets
Nevrivy is said to have revealed the planned location for a depot expansion to the Wienwert board in advance, after which they purchased the property and the Wiener Linien had to buy it back from them at a much higher price. This reportedly caused the city of Vienna a loss of around 850,000 euros, according to the public prosecutor's office in February. In return, he allegedly received several VIP tickets for the Vienna football derby and national team games from the real estate company. Additionally, around 36,000 euros were improperly given to a music group from his home district.
Hallmann, on the other hand, is essentially accused by the public prosecutor of having offered shares in the Kaufhaus Wiener Straße 6-8 Projektentwicklung GmbH for sale, knowing about Wienwert's financial distress, and dictating contract terms disadvantageous to Wienwert AG. This resulted in a loss of nearly 4 million euros to the creditors.
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.
