Austrian Supreme Court Finalizes Four-Year Prison Sentence for Ex-Finance Minister Grasser

Karl-Heinz Grasser's conviction for bribery and embezzlement concludes Austria's longest-running corruption trial, with plans for an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

• The Austrian Supreme Court reduced Karl-Heinz Grasser's initial eight-year sentence to four years, citing the prolonged legal proceedings.
• Grasser was found guilty of accepting €9.6 million in bribes and embezzlement related to the 2004 privatization of 60,000 state-owned apartments.
• The court dismissed charges of evidence tampering but upheld convictions for bribery and irregularities concerning a financial authority's lease agreement.
• Grasser has announced plans to appeal the ruling to the European Court of Human Rights, alleging judicial bias, though this will not delay his prison term.
• The case, spanning over two decades, marks an unprecedented moment in Austrian politics, holding a high-ranking official accountable for corruption.

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