Refugee accommodation

Bargain: Apartments sold for 7000 euros

Around 200 refugee apartments were sold too cheaply(Bild: Krone, Krone KREATIV)

A dubious deal almost 15 years ago is now the subject of legal proceedings. The state feels it has been cheated out of several million euros. 

Given current real estate prices and housing costs, the following story almost sounds like something out of a fairy tale. And it begins like this: once upon a time there was the Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF). At the beginning of the 2000s, it was responsible for housing refugees in Vienna, among other things. The portfolio included over 200 apartments.

As part of a restructuring process, the accommodation was discontinued and the managing director at the time was tasked with selling the more than 200 apartments. Between 2006 and 2009, parts of the concrete assets were sold again and again. One part of the deal was a real estate package consisting of 167 apartments. These were sold for around 1.2 million euros - not individually, but all together. The buyer put an average of 7,000 euros on the table per apartment. A ridiculously low price even then.

Court of Auditors delivers devastating verdict
In 2014, the Court of Audit also found the whole thing strange and took a closer look at the deal. The report the following year was devastating and also called the Public Prosecutor's Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption (WKStA) onto the scene. After many years of investigation, it came to the conclusion that the value of the properties would have been many times higher. There is talk of "courtesy appraisals" and "cover offers". The damages: around eleven million euros.

Indictment in May 2023
In May 2023, the WKStA brought charges of breach of trust against the former head of the ÖIF (who held the position until 2012) and other persons outside the Integration Fund. There was a further delay due to objections. These now seem to have been resolved.

Now it's off to court
According to "Krone" information, the trial will start in mid-August - around 15 years after the last deals. Four trial days are scheduled until shortly before the election. Represented by the Finanzprokuratur as the Republic's lawyer, the ÖIF is joining as a private party. They want to recover the lost money amounting to 11.6 million euros for the state. To this end, they also worked closely with the public prosecutor's office during the investigations. The presumption of innocence naturally applies to the accused.