Former CFO of Casinos Austria Files Lawsuit for Unfair Dismissal

Peter Sidlo, former CFO of Casinos Austria, has filed a lawsuit against his ex-employer seeking €2.3 million for unfair dismissal.

Having been mysteriously hired in March 2019 despite having no relevant experience, he was fired in December for “gross breach of duty” and for “inflicting serious damage to image and loss of reputation for the CA,” as a political scandal blew up around him.

Austria’s economic crimes and corruption prosecutor is currently investigating whether Sidlo’s appointment was part of a wider political conspiracy involving the country’s former far-right vice chancellor, Heinz-Christian Strache, and the privately held Austrian gaming giant Novomatic.

Novomatic held a significant stake in CA until it divested itself of its shares last month. The allegation is that Novomatic agreed to appoint Sidlo — a member of Strache’s Freedom Party (FPÖ) and a district councillor in Vienna — to the CA board in return for political favours from the FPÖ.

Whether Sidlo is a pawn in a political conspiracy or not, a contract is a contract, and Sidlo believes he deserves to get paid. The claim that he breached his duties or damaged CA’s reputation “does not exist,” his lawyers argue, adding that the supervisory board offered no real, “concrete reason” for his dismissal.

Sidlo arrived at the figure of €2,353,794.83 meticulously. As well as salary and bonuses covering his three-year contract, he includes money he would have saved by having continued use of the company car (€960) and the even itemises the value of the company parking space.