Investigations against ex-Minister Brandstetter largely discontinued

Investigations against ex-Minister Brandstetter largely discontinued

Ex-ÖVP Justice Minister Wolfgang Brandstetter can breathe a sigh of relief: the Innsbruck public prosecutor's office has announced that the majority of the investigations against him have been closed. According to the prosecution, there is insufficient evidence to pursue the allegations of breach of official secrecy and abuse of office. For Brandstetter, this means that he no longer has to deal with serious legal consequences for the time being. Nevertheless, there remains a suspicion that is connected to an alleged false statement of evidence within the framework of the ÖVP investigative committee, such as OE24 reported.

One of the central charges against Brandstetter was the allegation that he was unable to hand over his cell phone during a seizure order on February 25, 2021 because it was at home. Public prosecutor spokesman Hansjörg Mayr announced that a separate decision on this statement was still pending. In addition, the allegations that Brandstetter had instructed a judicial officer to betray a house search and illegal influences on personnel decisions during his term in office were investigated, but were also dropped because the evidence was insufficient. This also includes an accusation of libel against a ministry official, which turned out to be unfounded NOP reported.

The case has attracted considerable attention since it was opened, especially when prosecutors requested court assistance in 2021 to seize Brandstetter's electronic devices. Brandstetter was himself a constitutional judge between 2018 and 2021 and gave up this post after chats with a colleague became public in which he made inappropriate comments about members of the Constitutional Court. The final decision of the Innsbruck public prosecutor's office, which decided to end the investigation in this case, was forwarded and processed in January 2024.