Evidence presented

Abuse allegations: Stronach in court for the first time

Frank Stronach has to stand trial for allegations of abuse.

(Bild: APA/AP)

As reported, ten women have accused Magna founder Frank Stronach of sexual abuse or attempted rape. The cases date back to 1977 and have led to several charges against the 91-year-old in Canada. This Monday, the billionaire will have to stand trial for the first time. The evidence is now also available.

According to court documents, the 91-year-old is accused of several criminal offenses, including attempted rape, sexual assault and deprivation of liberty. Stronach rejects all accusations. A trial before a jury is not likely to take place for at least a year.

At the court hearing on Monday, Stronach does not yet have to respond to the accusations, as Thomas Daigle, reporter for the Canadian state TV station CBC, explained to the Ö1 "Morgenjournal". 

In Austria, the 91-year-old became known to the general public through his sports investments in soccer and equestrian sports and as the founder of the Team Stronach party, which was also briefly represented in the National Council.

(Bild: picturedesk.com/ERWIN SCHERIAU / APA / picturedesk.com)

Author describes "bizarre experience" with Stronach
According to the indictment, some of the incidents took place in Toronto and others in the Canadian city of Aurora, where Stronach's former company Magna International has its headquarters. The billionaire is also alleged to have sexually assaulted women in the spring of 2023.

New York author Jane Boon reported a "bizarre experience" with Stronach on ORF radio. The then 19-year-old student had met the billionaire in the 1980s because her university cooperated with Magna. The then 54-year-old invited her several times, her wine glass was always full at a managers' meeting and Stronach insisted that she spend the night in his guest house.

Advice from secretaries: "Don't go near theguest house"
 That evening, sexual acts between the student and the ex-Magna CEO also took place. "His concern for my ability to drive did not extend to the bedroom," Boon wrote in the Canadian newspaper "The Globe and Mail" at the end of June.

It was a disturbing and unpleasant experience, "it wasn't rape, but it was abuse of power, it was exploitative and it was wrong." After Boon reported her experience in the Canadian newspaper, other women who had worked at Magna came forward.

"The guest house was apparently legendary. There was a kind of whispering network," Boon reported on ORF radio. "Experienced secretaries took new female employees aside and told them: 'Don't go near this guest house'."