Shortly after the preliminary investigations by the corruption prosecutor’s office in the Vorarlberg business association became known, the tablet and perhaps also the cell phone of Governor Markus Wallner (ÖVP) were deleted, the “ZiB2” reported on Monday. In addition, the office management’s notebook had been declared defective. The governor’s office informed the ORF in writing that Wallner’s devices had been deleted because of a routine replacement that had been planned for some time.
Last week it became known that the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption (WKStA) is investigating whether there was initial suspicion of Wallner and the state economic advisers Karlheinz Rüdisser (until 2019) and Marco Tittler (since 2019) in the Vorarlberg financial affair. According to the public prosecutor’s office in Feldkirch, there is a suspicion that Wallner, Rüdisser and Tittler violated Section 305 of the Criminal Code. Specifically: Wallner could have tried to demand advantages as a public official for the dutiful performance of official business, Rüdisser and Tittler could have accepted such advantages. An entrepreneur who was not named had claimed in an affidavit that Wallner had solicited advertisements for the Wirtschaftsbund-Zeitung and also offered consideration in return – which the governor sharply rejected as a “blatant lie”. Shortly after the preliminary investigations against him became known the governor want to have his iPhone and iPad deleted, reported the “ZiB2”. The tablet was deleted, the cell phone could not be clarified. However, this is not related to the WKStA announcement, Wallner’s office said. As had been planned for a long time, the governor was equipped with a new mobile phone last week. And the iPad is also a routine exchange. Wallner has to face a motion of no confidence in the state parliament tomorrow, Wednesday. The opposition – FPÖ, SPÖ and NEOS – introduced this two weeks ago.
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