6000 euro fine

Property for sheikh makes ex-mayor poor

The trial took place at the regional court in Wels.

(Bild: Markus Wenzel)

A former mayor accused of abuse of office and accepting gifts got off with a diversion on Wednesday in the case surrounding a questionable reallocation in favor of a Saudi Arabian prince. He has to pay 6000 euros. In the course of the trial in Wels, it emerged that the project was apparently politically desired right up to the top of the state at the time.

A Saudi Arabian prince wanted to build a vacation residence in the community in the Upper Austrian lake district. A well-known entrepreneur from the region acted as an intermediary. A plot of grassland was bought from a farmer at a favorable price and then rededicated. As there was no connection to the existing settlement area, the project was referred to as a hotel and the area was designated as building land with a special tourism business. In return, the Prince paid the municipality more than five million shillings (around 364,000 euros) as a one-off payment and then 500,000 shillings (36,336.42 euros) and later 50,000 euros per year.

Complaint from BH got the ball rolling
The project was well known in the region and was even reported in the media. However, the Public Prosecutor's Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption only found out about it in 2023 when the Vöcklabruck district authority filed a complaint as part of the municipal audit. It brought charges against a former mayor for accepting gifts and abuse of office. According to the representative of the prosecution, the tourism designation was a "pretext" and the property was a second home.

Clear expert opinion from the nature conservation expert
A nature conservation expert from the regional planning procedure also came to the same conclusion: He saw a circumvention of the regional planning regulations by dedicating the area as a hotel, although in his view it had been a secondary residence. The result of his expert opinion was "unambiguous", he recalled. From a nature conservation perspective, the project "had to be judged negatively as a massive encroachment on the landscape". The judge wanted to know why it was implemented anyway. Answer: It was not uncommon for the supervisory authority to wave projects through despite negative nature conservation opinions. In this case, economic and state policy interests had been invoked.

Apparently political backing all the way to the top
On the first day of the trial, it became clear that the deputy governor responsible at the time, Christoph Leitl (ÖVP), did not want to decide the matter himself, but brought it to the provincial government. There, the regulatory approval was granted. The original managing director of the "hotel" company, who also helped to arrange the property deal, confessed that the prince had been looking for a large property with a view of Lake Mondsee and shielded from the public. There was nothing like it on the open market. "I started asking one farmer after another whether there was a possibility" and ended up with the previous owner. Then the well-known entrepreneur took over.

Everyone from Schlüssel to Klestil was informed
The witness described the project very positively and also as politically desirable: "From the Foreign Ministry, Doctor Schüssel (Wolfgang, ÖVP, note)" to the then Federal President Thomas Klestil, "everyone was informed". The Foreign Ministry had also intervened once when there were customs problems with the guests' luggage. He was not allowed to say who exactly had been on vacation here due to a confidentiality obligation, but a defense minister from Saudi Arabia or the king's sister had been here.

Court offered diversion
In view of the results of the evidentiary proceedings, the court offered the ex-chief of staff a diversion if he accepted responsibility - which the defendant did - and paid a fine of 6,000 euros. "We all saw that something illegal was being done here. Money is offered for rededication, a lot of money," said the senior public prosecutor. The defendant did not initiate this, "he took part in it". Nevertheless, he "did not want to close his mind to diversion". The defense attorney pointed out that his client, in contrast to others involved, "didn't actually do any business at all. He only meant well".

Officially adjourned
The trial was then officially adjourned until the payment had been received. If the ex-mayor pays the fine, the proceedings against him will be dropped.