19 hectares of forest cleared

Ohlsdorf: Public prosecutor investigates head of BH

Gravel, stones and excavators instead of 19 hectares of forest: because this area next to the A1 was cleared, the district governor of Gmunden, Alois Lanz, is now under investigation.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Wolfgang Spitzbart zVg )

The Ohlsdorf case is now officially a case for the public prosecutor: as the "Krone" learned on Tuesday morning, the judiciary is investigating Alois Lanz, the district governor of Gmunden. The BAK, the Federal Office for the Prevention and Combating of Corruption, has been commissioned with the investigation. An initial interim report is expected in mid-summer.

Last year, the Court of Audit examined the processes surrounding the future "Ehrenfeld II Viecht" business development area. The report published in December 2023 stated that the clearing of almost 19 hectares of forest was "not carried out properly". It took place "without sufficient examination of the prerequisites", the federal auditors criticized. 

Waiver of environmental impact assessment
Specifically, the issue was that no environmental impact assessment (EIA) was commissioned and the clearing of the huge piece of forest next to the Westautobahn was waved through.

Halls are now being built where a forest once stood.

(Bild: Wolfgang Spitzbart)

Proceedings delegated from Wels to Salzburg
Following the announcement of a complaint by the environmental NGO AllRise, the public prosecutor's office in Wels initially took action and investigated an initial suspicion. Even at this stage, when there was no decision on an official investigation, the proceedings were delegated by the senior public prosecutor's office in Linz to the authorities in Salzburg. The reason for this was that the local prosecutors in Wels were working ex officio with the district authority in Gmunden. And so as not to arouse any suspicion of bias, they entrusted their colleagues in Salzburg with the case. 

Investigation into unknown perpetrators
The decision was made there on May 10 to open an investigation into the case. "It is a case of suspected abuse of office, we have commissioned the Federal Office for the Prevention and Combating of Corruption," confirmed public prosecutor and media spokesperson Elena Haslinger. Specifically, an official of the Gmunden district authority, the head of the authority Alois Lanz, is being investigated, as are unknown perpetrators. "If perpetrators are named in the course of the proceedings, they will also be investigated," says Haslinger.