Allegation of sexual assault: Frank Stronach arrested in Toronto

He is said to have been charged with five crimes, including sexual assault and rape, local Canadian police officials said, according to the report. Stronach, 91, is now said to be released on bail.

According to Reuters, the arrest was made in the Toronto suburb of Aurora. According to the Peel Regional Police, the alleged sexual assaults are said to have taken place from the 1980s to 2023. According to the report, Stronach’s lawyer in Canada “categorically” denied all allegations. Stronach’s lawyer in Austria, Michael Krüger, was unable to comment on the case to the APA. His former assistant Carolin Handl also knew nothing about the allegations. However, in an interview with the APA, she emphasized that – as long as she worked for Stronach – she had always perceived him as a “person of great integrity.” She could “not imagine that these allegations are true.”

Released under conditions

Reuters quoted Stronach’s Canadian lawyer Brian Greenspan as saying that Stronach was looking forward to the opportunity to fully respond to the allegations “and to uphold his legacy as a philanthropist and icon of Canadian business.” Police said, according to Reuters, that Stronach had been released on bail and would appear at a later date in the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton.

The Magna Group said it had no knowledge of the investigation or the allegations made. It also pointed out that Stronach has had no connection to Magna since he gave up control in 2010.

In 2012, Stronach entered Austrian politics: He founded “Team Stronach” and represented him in the National Council and several state parliaments. However, he personally withdrew from the mandate he had won in the 2013 National Council election in January 2014 – on election night, the then 81-year-old was already disappointed that the Austrians had not even given him six percent of the vote. The party dissolved again in 2017.

This article was updated at 09:24.