Interviews with witnesses in the Novomatic setting
A parliamentary committee is currently investigating the connections between the Austrian gaming company Novomatic AG and politics. There are suspicions of illegal party donations, which may be related to the so-called Ibiza affair involving former Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache. Recently, Tina Liebich-Oswald, niece of Novomatic founder Johann Graf and wife of Supervisory Board Chairman Bernd Oswald, was questioned by the committee.
Liebich-Oswald Representing the Ties Between Novomatic and Politics?
The pressure on Novomatic has been building in connection with the Austrian donations scandal. The gaming company is suspected of having allowed illegal party donations to flow in order to influence the country's gambling laws to their advantage. The debacle was set off by the statements made by former Vice-Chancellor Strache in the Ibiza video. A parliamentary inquiry committee is interviewing witnesses.
Tina Liebich-Oswald, the niece of Novomatic founder and sole shareholder Johann Graf, who is also married to Bernd Oswald, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, was one of those questioned. She had also worked in the cabinets of former ÖVP Interior Ministers Wolfgang Sobotka and Karl Nehammer. Sobotka founded the Alois Mock Institute, for instance. According to the inquiry committee, money transfers between Novomatic and the institute had been established, with the amounts involved being much larger than previously assumed.
Liebich-Oswald has been identified as the embodiment of the entanglements between Novomatic and politics, said FPÖ parliamentary group leader Christian Hafenecker. She is a standout figure in this respect, he said. The question was whether Novomatic had been more influential in politics or vice versa. It now seems clear that there was a considerable influence.
The speculation that Novomatic was involved in the Strache affair has been around since May 2019. In the Ibiza video, Novomatic is accused of trying to overturn Casinos Austria's gambling monopoly through bribes. An amendment to the law is said to have disappeared in 2018 (among other things), which would have tightened gambling rules. Strache is thought to be responsible for the withdrawal.
Liebich-Oswald Refuses to Give Further Details
The questioning of Liebich-Oswald yielded little at first; she maintained that she knew nothing about it. As a cabinet member, she would have informed both Nehammer and Sobotka about her relationship. She did not elaborate on the relationship between herself and her uncle. Liebich-Oswald referred to ongoing criminal proceedings, saying that she had allegedly received generous gifts of money from Johann Graf on several occasions.
Liebich-Oswald also stated that she had worked for Novomatic. Before her political activities, she had worked in the legal department of the subsidiary Novomatic Gaming. She had never observed any transactions involving donations to political parties or affiliated organizations. She only knew ex-Novomatic boss Harald Neumann, who had resigned after several raids on Novomatic, in passing.
The questioning turned into a farce, with accusations flying back and forth. Liebich-Oswald complained that she was named in the media as a private person, and she criticized the way the questions were being asked. She left many questions unanswered to protect her privacy. The committee regarded her accusations as confirmation of the close ties.
Rene Benko, a real estate mogul who is also mentioned in the Ibiza video, was also questioned, but the results were insignificant. Benko's company is also suspected of illegal party donations. According to Benko, Strache's statements were not trustworthy, as he was merely bragging in a celebratory mood without considering the potential consequences. There had never been any party donations from the Signa Group.
Novomatic Takes Legal Action Against Profil News Magazine
The extent to which Novomatic is under pressure was demonstrated not only by their partial withdrawal from Austria, but also by a lawsuit they filed against the news magazine Profil at the Vienna Commercial Court at the end of September. The main reason for this was the reporting on the Ibiza affair. Novomatic is demanding an injunction, a retraction, and a payment of 50,000 euros with a four percent annual interest rate.
The crucial factor was an article from July 12, 2020, which dealt with the Ministry of Finance's plans to reinterpret the Gaming Act 2018. According to Profil, the plans would benefit Novomatic. The ministry, which was then led by the ÖVP, is even said to have struck a deal with Novomatic in order to secure their support against the Czech Sazka Group, the current majority owner of Casinos Austria.
Peter Zöchbauer, Novomatic's lawyer, stated that such speculations were inadmissible and led to unfounded suspicions. Novomatic had previously filed a complaint for defamation of character against the SPÖ parliamentary group leader Kai Jan Krainer, who had spoken publicly of dubious deals between Novomatic and the ÖVP. The developments remain to be seen.
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Source: www.onlinecasinosdeutschland.com
