Karl-Heinz Grasser to Receive Ankle Bracelet in Early 2026

The ex-Finance Minister Karl-Heinz Grasser (FPÖ/then ÖVP-affiliated), who has been incarcerated in the Innsbruck prison since early June following his conviction in the Buwog trial, will have to remain in prison over Christmas and the New Year. At the beginning of January, the 56-year-old will then receive an ankle monitor or be allowed to switch to electronically monitored house arrest, APA learned from a reliable source on Thursday.

Grasser had received a four-year prison sentence

Grasser's lawyers had already submitted a corresponding application for electronically monitored house arrest on September 1. Most recently, the former Finance Minister (from 2000 to 2007, note) also made headlines in September when he had to undergo emergency surgery at the Innsbruck clinic due to a suddenly occurring health problem. Grasser then spent several weeks in the hospital. The native Carinthian has long lived with his wife, the entrepreneur and Swarovski heiress Fiona Pacifico Griffini-Grasser, and their daughter in Kitzbühel.

Grasser was legally sentenced to four years of unconditional imprisonment by the Supreme Court (OGH) at the end of March in the Buwog case for breach of trust and acceptance of gifts by officials. He is expected to be conditionally released halfway through the sentence.

Meischberger also with an application for an ankle monitor

The immediate future of the also convicted ex-lobbyist and former FPÖ General Secretary Walter Meischberger in the Buwog trial was still unclear. The 66-year-old Tyrolean had filed an application for a postponement of imprisonment for health reasons at the end of May, which was finally rejected in October. The former long-time top politician then also submitted an application for an ankle monitor. The matter is still "in the application stage," and a decision had not yet been made, APA learned.

Grasser was sentenced to four years in prison in the Buwog case and in that of the Terminal Tower Linz for breach of trust and acceptance of gifts by officials, Meischberger to 3.5 years. The former lobbyist Hochegger was sentenced to 3 years - of which 2 years are conditional.

(APA/Red)

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