A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday

Grasser opens personal bankruptcy with €21m in debt

Former Finance Minister Karl-Heinz Grasser has officially entered personal bankruptcy, revealing debts of €21 million in a filing at the Kitzbühel District Court, according to a Der Standard report. 

The largest creditors are the Republic of Austria (€12.7m) and the tax office (€7.9m), stemming from his conviction in the Buwog trial. Grasser has no real estate and limited assets, with two bank accounts seized and his company, Valuecreation GmbH, in liquidation.

Grasser, who is currently unemployed, claims his job prospects were destroyed by nearly 16 years of legal proceedings. He is now offering a repayment plan of €630,000—about three percent of the total debt—financed by a third party. The insolvency administrator is Innsbruck lawyer Herbert Matzunski, with a court hearing scheduled for August 6th.

Pre-trial detention for René Benko extended by two months

Tyrolean investor René Benko will remain in custody for at least two more months after the Vienna Regional Criminal Court extended his pre-trial detention, citing continued strong suspicion and a risk of repeat offences, as Der Standard reported. 

The next detention hearing is set to take place by July 7th. Benko’s legal team and the public prosecutor declined to comment on the decision.

Benko was arrested in January in Innsbruck and has since been held at Vienna’s Josefstadt prison. The Economic and Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (WKStA) accuses him of deceiving investors and breaching trust in relation to the collapse of the Signa Group. Prosecutors allege that he tried to conceal assets and continued to operate as the beneficial owner of the Laura Private Foundation during the group’s insolvency proceedings. The charges could carry a prison sentence of up to ten years.

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Austria raises €1.5bn through federal bonds amid strong demand

Austria issued €1.5 billion in federal bonds on Tuesday, bringing its covered financing needs for the year to 60 percent, according to ORF. 

The Austrian Federal Financing Agency (OeBFA) reported high demand and favourable conditions, with a ten-year bond increased by €900 million and a 2044-maturity bond by €600 million. Yields were 2.943 percent and 3.402 percent, respectively.

OeBFA head Markus Stix said the capital market remains highly receptive to Austrian debt, with the interest rate spread to Germany now down to 40 basis points—an improvement from the 70-point gap seen earlier this year. He noted that the interest environment is returning to a more “normal” curve, with longer maturities now offering higher yields. Stix added that markets have already priced in the expected ECB rate cut in June.

Motorcyclist dies after collision with streetcar in Vienna

A 41-year-old motorcyclist died after crashing head-on into a streetcar on Vienna’s Taborstraße on Monday evening, as Die Presse reported. 

According to police, the man was heading toward Obere Donaustraße when he skidded on the wet road or streetcar tracks near the junction with Schweidlgasse and collided with an oncoming tram.

The accident occurred around 5.45 pm. Emergency responders were unable to save the man, who died at the scene. The Vienna Provincial Traffic Department’s accident command is handling the investigation.

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Austria on track for record-breaking year of corporate insolvencies

Austria could see more company insolvencies in 2025 than ever before, following a 21.9 percent increase in 2024, according to data from Die Presse via Creditreform. 

The country recorded 160 insolvencies per 10,000 companies last year—among the highest in Western Europe—and the trend is expected to worsen. Creditreform’s Gerhard M. Weinhofer warned that Austria may surpass its 2009 record of 7,200 cases, with up to 7,600 forecast this year.

Weinhofer cited high interest rates, energy costs, weak demand, and spillover effects from Germany’s economic struggles as key drivers. Particularly troubling is the rise in cases where proceedings are not initiated due to a lack of assets, resulting in total losses for creditors. Signa, with over 140 proceedings across Europe, is among the most prominent insolvencies. While Austria braces for a spike, countries like Hungary and the UK are seeing declines due to earlier waves or state interventions.

Case closed in bizarre twelve-time marriage pension scandal

A fraud investigation against a Graz couple who married and divorced twelve times over 35 years has been unexpectedly dropped, Die Presse reported. 

The woman, now 73, began remarrying her second husband after her first spouse died in 1981, repeatedly collecting a widow’s pension after each divorce. The practice, which netted them an estimated €326,000, was ruled not to constitute fraud under Austrian law.

According to the Graz public prosecutor’s office, the offence of fraud requires that the deceived party directly disposes of the money, which was not the case here. Despite what authorities described as a years-long abuse of the legal system, the couple’s conduct was found not to meet the threshold for criminal prosecution. The pension authority only refused to pay out after the twelfth divorce in 2022, a decision upheld by the Supreme Court.

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FPÖ politician demands strict limits on dual citizenship and naturalisation

Christoph Luisser, a state councillor from the FPÖ in Lower Austria, has called for a sweeping reform of Austria’s citizenship laws, arguing that current rules no longer serve internal security, according to Kurier. 

He proposed longer waiting times, tougher language and income requirements, and excluding individuals with serious criminal convictions—even after the redemption period—from obtaining Austrian citizenship.

Luisser also demanded that dual citizenship be “fundamentally avoided” and that fast-track naturalisation for asylum holders under Section 11a(7) of the Citizenship Act be suspended. Law professor Michael Geistlinger, a frequent FPÖ speaker, backed his remarks. Human rights group SOS Mitmensch criticised the statements, accusing Luisser of spreading misinformation and appearing on far-right media outlet Info-DIREKT, which Austria’s Office monitors for the Protection of the Constitution. Luisser rejected the accusations.

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