The WKStA confirmed the arrest to the press online because there was a “risk of committing the crime and collusion”. Karmasin plays a central role in the advertisement and survey affair that led to Sebastian Kurz’s resignation as Chancellor and extensive investigations into the VP environment. Karmasin and her former assistant Sabine Beinschab are said to have mediated those orders and surveys from the Ministry of Finance and the Austrian media group that are now the subject of the investigation. They are said to have been settled by the ministry, but ultimately benefited the ÖVP. The survey values were doctored and published via “Austria”. All of this was accompanied by a large number of advertisements, according to the allegations.
Current investigation results are said to have weighed more heavily on the pollster. In her extensive testimony, Beinschab accuses the ex-minister of having demanded commission for brokered orders from other ministries during her active time as a politician. However, there is a ban on employment for members of the government.
In addition, a model of poll manipulation is said to have been carried out before 2017 with Today and the SPÖ. This is disputed by all parties involved.
Source: Nachrichten
