Austria’s Public Prosecutor’s Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption (WKStA) has filed charges against a senior government official and two Novomatic executives for bribery following an order from the Senior Public Prosecutor’s Office Vienna and Federal Ministry of Justice.
Inside Asian Gaming understands the two executives in question are Novomatic’s owner Johann Graf and former Novomatic and Ainsworth Game Technology (AGT) CEO Harald Neumann. Neumann stepped down from AGT in October after the Nevada Gaming Control Board opted not to renew his state gaming license.
The charges, which follow an investigation first launched in 2018, relate to allegations that former Austrian Vice-Chancellor and Federal Minister for Public Service and Sport, Heinz-Christian Strache, in his capacity at the time as Vice-Chancellor and Federal Minister for Public Service and Sport, demanded the Novomatic executives appoint a candidate – Peter Sidlo – to the board of Casinos Austria AG not because of qualifications but due to the candidate’s political affiliation with Strache and the ruling party. In return, Strache is alleged to have agreed to the partisan award of gambling licenses to Casinos Austria. Novomatic held a 17.2% interest in Casinos Austria at the time.
According to WKStA, charges have now been laid against Strache for accepting benefits to exert influence, and against the “two executives of Novomatic AG” for granting benefits to exert influence. It has also filed an application for a fine against Novomatic AG under the Association Liability Act.
In response, Novomatic described the demand for prosecution by the Senior Public Prosecutor’s Office Vienna and Federal Ministry of Justice as “not comprehensible” given WKStA had “intended to fully discontinue the last remaining allegation” until the demand was issued. Neither were additional interrogations conducted, nor are there any new pieces of evidence that would explain the contrary decision, the company said in a statement.
“Novomatic has consistently rejected all allegations as untrue from the very beginning,” added Novomatic spokesperson Alexandra Lindlbauer.
“Of the originally numerous accusations, all except this last allegation have already been proven to be unfounded during the course of the investigation and thus resulted in legally binding discontinuations. We are therefore convinced that this last remaining allegation will also prove to be groundless, and we welcome clarification by an independent court.”
WKStA’s charges allege that Strache was prepared to allow himself to be influenced in his future activities as a public official in the interests of the Novomatic Group by introducing relevant government bills, exercising his voting rights accordingly in the Council of Ministers and engaging in negotiations in the context of preparing general government policy
Graf and Neumann, who had influence over Casinos Austria through nomination and voting rights, are alleged to have facilitated the arrangement and thereby granted an undue advantage under the Austrian Criminal Code with the intention of influencing Strache as a public official in his future activities in the interests of the Novomatic Group.
WKStA added in a Friday statement that, under the Association Liability Act, Novomatic AG would also be responsible for the corresponding criminal offences committed by its decision-makers.
It said the investigation – originally delayed by almost three years due to objections by the defendants – found that Strache “allegedly seriously considered it possible and accepted that he would be influenced in his activities as a public official by the appointment of his preferred candidate” and that “the two Novomatic executives allegedly acted with at least conditional intent to influence Strache in his activities as a public official through the described conduct.”
The statutory penalty is up to two years’ imprisonment, WKStA confirmed.
The charges laid against Neumann could have farther-reaching consequences for AGT given a recent shareholder battle between Novomatic, which holds a 67.39% stake in the Australian slots supplier, and Kjerulf Ainsworth – the son of company founder Len Ainsworth – who holds 7.49%. Ainsworth recently led a minority shareholder group to block Novomatic’s efforts to take AGT private.
Ainsworth has been critical of AGT’s failure to initially disclose the investigation into Neumann and Novomatic to shareholders, and earlier this month issued a statement calling for the resignation of AGT chairman Danny Gladstone for his support of the failed Novomatic takeover bid and of Neumann’s licensing suitability.
AGT issued a statement last June claiming that it did not previously feel obliged to inform the market of bribery allegations aired against Neumann by media outlets back in Austria prior to his appointment as AGT CEO in 2001 because those allegations were not supported by “factual evidence”.
RelatedPosts
