Business with Romania

Former prime minister bribed? Five Austrians charged

According to the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office, "commissions" were allegedly paid to Adrian Nastase, former Prime Minister of Romania (pictured in 2012), as well as several of his ministers.(Bild: AFP)

Twenty years after an alleged crime, five Austrians - one woman and four men aged between 54 and 63 - have been on trial in Vienna since Tuesday. They are alleged to have bribed the former Romanian Prime Minister Adrian Nastase, among others, as part of a software licensing deal. They are also accused of embezzlement and face up to ten years in prison.

The scene was Romania in the early 2000s: at that time, the Romanian public administration used its computer software without the appropriate licensing. In order to change this situation, a contract was to be concluded with a partner of the software company. Romania found what it was looking for at a company in Vienna, where the defendants were involved in the mega deal in various roles.

Around 14 million euros in "commissions"
The catch, according to the Vienna public prosecutor's office: the decision-makers at the time demanded "commissions", as they called the alleged bribes. "These 'commissions' were hidden in the sales price and were later transferred back to lobbyists and decision-makers. The defendants knew that the decision-makers were abusing their powers and that the state of Romania had suffered considerable damage as a result of their actions," said the prosecutor at the start of the trial in the Grand Jury Courtroom at the Vienna Regional Court.

These commissions were hidden in the sales price and were later transferred back to lobbyists and decision-makers.

Die Staatsanwältin in ihrem Plädoyer

In total, around 14 million euros in bribes are alleged to have been paid, at least in part, to ex-Prime Minister Adrian Nastase and several of his former ministers. The first of six provisionally scheduled trial days began on Tuesday. A correspondingly large number of alternate jurors will follow the trial. They must be prepared for lengthy trial days. 

The defendants are represented by well-known defense lawyers, such as Rudolf Mayer and Harald Schuster. The law firm of Kurz lawyer Otto Dietrich is also represented: Markus Höcher is representing the first accused entrepreneur.