Trial Against BFA Official for Alleged Fraud in Deportation Flights

The BFA official is accused of having disclosed official secrets in 27 cases by revealing offers. Additionally, he is said to have systematically favored a provider from September 2015 to October 2020.

BFA Official Allegedly Caused 174,000 Euros in Damages

According to the indictment, this resulted in more than two dozen cases where, for improper reasons, the cheapest provider was not selected, causing financial damage to the Republic of Austria and the EU border protection agency Frontex. The incriminated damage amount: 174,000 euros. The official, who has been suspended from duty since 2021, is accused of serious fraud, breach of trust, deception, and repeated violation of official secrets. The prosecutor emphasized that the official did not enrich himself. No evidence emerged in the investigation to suggest otherwise: "He did not receive any money. The bribery allegations have been dropped."

Accused BFA Official Claims "Act of Revenge"

The accused - a trained police officer who transferred to this authority with the establishment of the BFA in 2014 and specialized in organizing and conducting forced return flights of illegally residing persons - pleaded not guilty. He claimed to be the victim of an intrigue. He stated that he had written to BFA Director Gernot Maier "complaining about grievances in my work area that may be criminally and financially relevant." Shortly thereafter, criminal investigations were initiated against him. "An act of revenge," suspected the accused, who had complained about "permanent wrong decisions" by his immediate superiors, bossing, and personal attacks directed against him. He had also informed the BFA director that he had to "reject so-called instructions" from his superiors "due to incompetence."

BFA Official Had Problems with Superiors

In detail, the official described that during the COVID-19 pandemic, in the middle of lockdown and despite an international flight ban, they insisted on return flights to Nigeria: "We were the only country in Europe planning to fly to Nigeria." Although two flights had already been canceled due to lack of landing permission, a third was considered for June 2020 - without taking COVID tests into account. In the end, costs of 300,000 euros were incurred for all three canceled flights, which the taxpayer had to cover. A similar situation occurred with a deportation flight to Moscow, which the attaché in Moscow had strongly advised against.

The prosecutor acknowledged that the accused was "the expert" in his field, had trained other employees at the BFA, and had written a kind of user manual for the forced removal of illegally residing persons by plane. However, he was "very close" with the intermediaries of so-called collective returns and maintained "a friendly relationship." He consistently favored one of them, while another was only selected once.

The fact that he invited an intermediary to a sailing trip for his 50th birthday or attended a football match in Munich could not be held against him, the accused countered: "We were just football crazy. Like half of Austria." If he did not choose the cheapest offer for return flights, there were good reasons for it. For certain destinations, "I always wanted large planes with two aisles," the official referred to nationalities that, based on experience, behave aggressively and uncooperatively during deportations.

(APA/Red)

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