Investigation against real estate entrepreneur Soravia over hospice project at Arlberg dropped

Specifically, the accused had been charged with having deceived investors in the spring of 2023 with false information about the construction progress, by presenting a real estate analysis and by concealing service and loan agreements, thereby enticing them to participate. The prosecution authority has now, however, concluded that this conduct does not fulfill the criminal offense of fraud.

Allegation: False statements to investors

Regarding the planned completion date of the construction project, the reasoning states that "no intent to deceive can be inferred" from this. Because "based on general life experience, it must be expected that construction projects will be completed with delays." The public prosecutor's office thus classified delays in the construction process as a typical risk that investors must fundamentally take into account.

In addition, according to the investment memorandum, the investors had been pointed to the "uncertain situation." In his statement, Kollmann additionally pointed out that the "risks inherent in the project" had been known to the investors and that they had not requested any additional documents before the end of March 2023.

According to Koll's account, Soravia and the co-accused – including, according to the defense, a tax advisor – were only appointed as managing directors of Hospiz am Arlberg Holding GmbH at the end of 2023 and were therefore not yet in operational responsibility at the time in question. Any potential new construction had been linked to an official permit and "economic plausibility assessment."

Reasoning of the public prosecutor's office

The accused had been charged with damages amounting to 1.4 million euros. However, since the public prosecutor's office did not consider either an intent to deceive or a resulting disposition of assets as provable, it did not get beyond the threshold of initial suspicion.

The dismissal is not yet final. Affected investors can lodge an appeal against the decision within the statutory deadline and request that the investigation be continued. A higher court would then have to decide on such an appeal.

Possible further steps

With the current decision, proceedings that had attracted media and legal attention since the spring of 2023 come to an end. For Soravia and Kollmann, the dismissal means that no criminal proceedings will be opened against them – civil disputes with investors would, however, remain independently possible.

The Graz public prosecutor's office is part of the Directorate General for the Seat State and is responsible for criminal proceedings in the greater Graz area. The reasoning for the dismissal decision was disseminated by APA, which indicates a public communication of the decision.