Suspicion of Coercion Against Styrian FPÖ Leader Kunasek Not Confirmed

In connection with the financial case of the FPÖ Graz, the public prosecutor's office in Klagenfurt has closed the investigation against the Styrian FPÖ leader - and governor - Mario Kunasek and FPÖ regional councilor Stefan Hermann. The authorities were investigating the politicians on suspicion of coercion. Now it has been closed "due to a lack of objective evidence," confirmed the public prosecutor's office in Klagenfurt to the APA regarding an online report by the Kronen Zeitung.

Report of Alleged Intimidation

The trigger for the investigation was a report by Alexis Pascuttini, who was expelled from the Graz FPÖ and is now the head of the Corruption-Free Municipal Council Club (KFG). It concerns the allegation of coercion, as Pascuttini was allegedly pressured by Kunasek and Hermann in August and September 2022 to prevent further clarification of the financial scandal. According to information from the public prosecutor's office in Klagenfurt involved in the case, the proceedings were closed "due to a lack of objective evidence for the specific course of the meetings in August/September 2022 and the specific statements made by the accused - ultimately no significantly higher credibility could be attributed than to the equally plausible statements of the two accused."

FPÖ Sees Itself Vindicated

FPÖ state party secretary and state parliament club chairman Marco Triller spoke out on Wednesday: He was "glad that these absurd accusations, as expected, have dissolved into thin air, and I expressly thank the authorities for their thorough investigative work," said Triller. At the same time, he expressed confidence "that the still open strands of the proceedings will also be brought to an end quickly and the investigations will be closed."

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.