Prosecutors reopen investigation into KuGes chief Wagner

The Feldkirch public prosecutor’s office has resumed its investigation into Monika Wagner, head of the Vorarlberg Cultural Houses Operating Company, or KuGes, on suspicion of document forgery, ORF reported Tuesday. The decision followed a ruling by the regional court, a prosecution spokesperson said.

The investigation, launched in May, was initially discontinued because prosecutors found no provable intent. When proceedings are discontinued, all parties are notified and may request that they be reopened. The regional court then decides on the request. That process took place in this case, the spokesperson said, without providing further details.

Stephanie Gräve, then director of the Vorarlberg State Theatre, filed a complaint against her superior on May 10. Wagner is accused of using Gräve’s digital signature without authorisation when preparing a contract. Wagner described the incident as an “unintentional administrative error”.

KuGes’s supervisory board, representing the company owned by the state of Vorarlberg, backed Wagner and said it was convinced she had acted “to the best of her knowledge and belief”.

The complaint marked the final breakdown between KuGes and Gräve. The theatre director was initially relieved of her duties on full pay, and her contract was terminated in June. Gräve had led the Vorarlberg State Theatre since 2018, and her contract would have run until July 31, 2028.

Relations between Gräve and KuGes, as well as with the state of Vorarlberg, had been considered strained since March, when officials announced that her contract would not be extended and that it was “a good time for new impulses”. Gräve, who was born in 1968, had wanted to continue until 2030. The decision not to extend her contract, particularly the way it was communicated, caused concern in Vorarlberg’s cultural scene, among opposition parties in the state parliament and among the directors of Austria’s state and city theatres.