'Stung' Euro-MP in Austrian corruption trial
26 November 2012, 11:48 CET
(VIENNA) - A former Austrian interior minister and MEP who resigned after being caught in a sting by British journalists posing as lobbyists went on trial in Vienna on Monday charged with corruption.
Ernst Strasser was allegedly recorded by two undercover Sunday Times journalists in 2010 offering to use his influence to alter legislation in the European Parliament in return for an annual fee of 100,000 euros ($130,000).
Strasser, interior minister from 2000 to 2004, resigned as a European deputy in March 2011, and denies any wrongdoing. A verdict is expected on December 13.