Even office searched

Austria’s largest court is a major construction site

Alma Zadić confirmed investigations by the public prosecutor's office at the Federal Administrative Court.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Wolfgang Spitzbart, APA/HANS KLAUS TECHT)

The justice department is going through turbulent times: The Federal Administrative Court (BVwG) is alleged to have interfered with the allocation of business - the public prosecutor's office is now investigating eleven suspects. But the secret search of a judge's office is also causing a stir.

At the Federal Administrative Court, a former president and a vice president may have had a hand in the assignment of new cases to judges. Following an inquiry by Neos MP Stephanie Krisper to department head Alma Zadić, the Ministry of Justice has now confirmed investigations by the public prosecutor's office in Innsbruck. According to "Krone" research, the list of suspects now includes eleven people. The suspicion is abuse of office - the presumption of innocence applies.

The background seems remarkable: The case was initiated by a judge and his former assistant at the BVwG branch office in Innsbruck. In 2019, the judge had identified a potential case of corruption involving an asylum association with links to the highest political circles. During a hearing, a witness handed him more than 11,000 documents. The judge keeps them in his office.