The Austrian diplomat Thomas Stelzer will be investigated while the justice system studies the possibility of opening a criminal investigation.
Austrian diplomat Thomas Stelzer, dean of the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA), an international organization promoted by the UN, was suspended from his duties for suspicions of corruption.
The IACA -as reported this Friday in a statement- was informed by Austria that anonymous complaints had been filed against Stelzer for alleged misappropriation of funds from the center, and the Austrian courts are studying the possibility of open a criminal investigation.
The governing board of this organization, based in the Austrian town of Laxenburg, about 30 kilometers from Vienna, unanimously decided suspend the dean after receiving that information.
This institution, promoted by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Interpol, the Anti-Fraud Office of the EU and Austria, aims to train professionals from all over the world to combat corruption, as well as promote research and cooperation in this field.
A total of 76 States, including Spain, Mexico and Argentina, ratified or adhered to the founding treaty of the IACA, according to the institution itself.
Stelzer defended himself against the accusations in a statement to the magazine “Profil” and stressed that he had waived his diplomatic immunity so as not to delay the investigation.
The suspended dean assures that what he has been able to find out about the accusations is “empty of content and is not criminally relevant”, and he was interested in clarifying the situation in such a way “quickly and completely“.
Regarding his suspension as dean of the IACA, he maintained that it is “a preventive measure, and not a disciplinary one” and he hoped to recover his position again.
The suspension, the IACA points out, is an administrative measure aimed at ensuring that the Austrian authorities carry out the investigation in a transparent manner and without suspicion of conflict of interest.
The IACA has launched an internal investigation into what happened.