Breach of trust investigation at Graz trade fair: Former board chair Muhr and exhibition director Götz confirmed
The Graz State Prosecutor's Office is investigating suspicions of breach of trust involving former MCG board chair Barbara Muhr and public exhibitions director Alexander Götz.
State Prosecutor's Office Graz investigates three MCG executives
The Graz State Prosecutor's Office is investigating suspicions of breach of trust against a total of three senior employees of Messe Congress Graz (MCG). According to the Kleine Zeitung, former board chair Barbara Muhr and current public exhibitions director Alexander Götz have confirmed on inquiry that an anonymous report has also been filed against them. It was already known that investigations were being conducted against serving board chair Martin Ullrich.
The starting point is an anonymous report relating to events in 2023 and 2024. State Prosecutor's Office spokesman Christian Kroschl had previously stated that investigations were being conducted "against a senior MCG employee on suspicion of breach of trust". This person is said to have granted or approved excessive discounts to exhibitors and organisers in breach of internal compliance guidelines, failed to charge for additional services, and failed to produce traceable price calculations for individual events. This resulted in "losses of at least five-figure amounts", according to Kroschl. Two further senior employees are suspected of having tolerated or approved these actions in their respective functions.
Ullrich, Muhr and Götz comment
Martin Ullrich was MCG finance chief at the time in question. He emphasises that he complied with the State Prosecutor's Office's request for a statement and demonstrated in the process that "there was indeed a positive contribution margin" – backed by corresponding invoices. Ullrich also points out that "such activities were fundamentally also the responsibility of area managers as well as operative business executives at our company".
Barbara Muhr, who served as board chair of MCG alongside Armin Egger until 2025, confirms the investigations to the Kleine Zeitung: "Yes, the report was also filed against me, but the allegations are baseless." Alexander Götz, currently responsible for public exhibitions, also states that he has already submitted a comprehensive statement.
City councillor Eber expects swift clarification
The responsible city councillor Manfred Eber (KPÖ) expresses himself cautiously: "Fundamentally, we do not comment on ongoing proceedings." The allegations had been thoroughly reviewed internally, and on the basis of the statements made by MCG management, he saw "no indications that would substantiate the allegations". Eber expects swift clarification.
Eber had already been required to mediate the furore surrounding MCG the previous year, when the city of Graz decided to reopen the position of board chair and reduce it from two posts to one. Muhr and Egger initially both applied – Muhr later withdrew her application, and Egger withdrew from the process with sharp criticism of the city after he was not invited to the hearing.
Source: Kleine Zeitung