"Call the White House"

Putin friend Wolf asked Kurz for help with sanctions

Sebastian Kurz and Siegfried Wolf (at the Signa Törggelen 2014) have a close relationship.

(Bild: picturedesk.com/Starpix)

Austrian manager Siegfried Wolf has long been close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and has been friends with former Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) for years. Wolf tried to exploit his connections to ease sanctions against Russia. This is confirmed by new chat logs available to the COFAG-U committee.

Between 2018 and 2020, former Chancellor Kurz and investor Wolf had frequent exchanges with each other. For example, when Kurz needed advice from the former ÖIAG CEO on state investments or when the Federal Chancellor needed to put in a good word for Wolf with the US government. In between, roses are also scattered, for example when Wolf thinks that a press conference by Sebastian Kurz was "very well received". The chat logs available to the "Krone" show a close relationship between the two.

At the time, Wolf was Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Russian car manufacturer GAZ, which is owned by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. GAZ is on the US sanctions list. In numerous messages, Wolf urgently asks Kurz for support so that the sanctions can be lifted.

Sebastian Kurz and Siegfried Wolf (at the Signa Törggelen 2014) have a close relationship.

(Bild: picturedesk.com/Starpix)

Request for intervention in Washington
"Today our GAZ problem is being presented to Mr. Manuchin (meaning the then US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, note). It would therefore be particularly important if you could please call the White House and Manuchin again," Wolf wrote to Kurz in mid-January 2020. A little later, on 23 January 2020, he pressed again to see if Kurz could get him an appointment with Minister Mnuchin.

"Meet Putin to go skiing"
Even before that, Russia was a recurring topic. In March 2018, Wolf wrote to Kurz: "Reactions in Russia very, very positive! I'm on my way to Sochi this afternoon. Meet P (apparently meaning Putin, note) for skiing or he's coming for dinner. You wanted to give me some feedback." It is not clear from the files exactly what this was about; some passages are blacked out.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

At the end of March 2018, Kurz reported to Wolf live from the EU summit: "There's quite a heated meeting on Russia in Brussels today. If we talk tomorrow, everything will go in a very bad direction!" At the time, the EU strongly condemned the poison attack on former Russian agent Sergei Skripal, for which the Putin regime was held responsible. Sebastian Kurz did not want to comment on the chat.

NEOS demand clarification
For the NEOS, the current chats once again suggest that Putin's networks reached all the way to the top of the Turkish-blue government. "The ÖVP should therefore stop trying to hide children in the Russia case and instead take part in the investigation," said Yannick Shetty, NEOS parliamentary group leader on the U Committee. He once again calls for a "pact of clarification" in which all parties should commit to setting up a Russia inquiry committee after the National Council elections in the fall.

Because in the past decades, the three major parties FPÖ, SPÖ and ÖVP have "opened the door to Russian influence", emphasizes Shetty. The Egisto Ott espionage case has given new urgency to links between Austrian politicians and Russian decision-makers.