Pollster arrested in Austria corruption scandal

By AFP 12 October 2021, 1:54 pm

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Austrian authorities make a first arrest in a corruption probe that toppled chancellor Sebastian Kurz, local media reported, holding a woman for allegedly destroying evidence.

One of a series of scandals that dogged Kurz’s two successive governments, the latest affair revolves around partially faked opinion polls paid for with taxpayer money and fed to a tabloid to paint Kurz in a favorable light.

The woman arrested Tuesday is a pollster who authorities said last week was under investigation for corruption.

She is suspected of having deleted data from the hard disk of her computer just before a raid, daily Der Standard reports.

Prosecutors decline comment to AFP, citing “ongoing investigations.”