STORY CONTINUES BELOW THESE SALTWIRE VIDEOSVIENNA - Austrian anti-corruption prosecutors said on Tuesday they had dropped a bribery investigation into former conservative Finance Minister Gernot Bluemel for lack of proof.
The investigation into Bluemel, who has denied the allegations, focused on a 2017 text-message exchange between him and a manager at a gambling company, in which the manager requested a meeting with the then foreign minister, Kurz, to discuss a tax problem in a foreign country and referred to a potential donation to their party.
It could also not be shown with sufficient certainty that Bluemel passed on the request, or the reference to a donation, or that a potentially criminal offer was made at any meeting between the company and the minister, it added.