Wolf and former minister Schelling face corruption trial
Tuesday 20th October 2026 on 12:15 in
Austria
A corruption trial against industrialist Siegfried Wolf and former Austrian finance minister Hans-Jörg Schelling opened in Wiener Neustadt on Tuesday, ORF reported. The case centres on an alleged deal involving a tax concession in exchange for help securing a senior post for a tax official.
Prosecutors allege that in summer 2018 Wolf promised to lobby the Finance Ministry to appoint a Lower Austrian tax office head as director of the Baden-Mödling tax office. In return, he allegedly asked her to approve a tax concession of 630,000 euros.
The disputed amount related to interest charges on tax arrears for 2006 to 2011. According to the case file, Wolf had not declared income earned in Switzerland in Austria during those years. He sought to challenge a tax demand of seven million euros and disputed interest charges of 687,000 euros, prosecutors said. The lead prosecutor said the interest was not a penalty but overdue-payment interest.
The tax official, now 65, is also on trial. Prosecutors accuse her of abuse of office and accepting a bribe, alleging she issued a tax-friendly decision without the required conditions or consultation with the Finance Ministry’s specialist department. They also accuse her of breaching confidentiality by keeping Wolf informed about the matter.
Wolf faces charges of bribery and instigating abuse of office. Prosecutors allege he lobbied then-Finance Ministry Secretary General Thomas Schmid and later Schelling to help the official obtain the post she wanted. Wolf and the official allegedly met at the Guntramsdorf motorway service station, where prosecutors say he made his offer.
The Finance Ministry’s specialist department did not approve the tax concession. The decision was flagged internally in May 2019 and overturned on June 26 that year as unlawful.
Messages presented by prosecutors suggest Wolf was angry when he learned the decision had been overturned. In a message to Schmid on June 27, 2019, he wrote: “Dear Thomas, I’ve just been told that my concession has been overturned and I now have to pay the interest after all. This is madness. What’s going on? Sigi.”
The hearing began 20 minutes late. Eleven days of proceedings are scheduled through December 17.