Heinz-Christian Strache, former Vice Chancellor of Austria, enjoyed playing the mobile game Clash of Clans. Strache spent on average €2,000-€3,000 ($2,200-$3,300) monthly on micro-transactions and boosts. However, Strache allegedly did not pay for the micro-transactions out of his pocket; instead he allegedly used a credit card tied to his political party Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), according to a lawyer close to him. A first hint came from a report filed in 2015 by lawyer close to Strache, who is going by the name “M.” The story was leaked to Austrian Kleine Zeitung, an Austrian newspaper outlet, on the 20th of December and was reported by Georg Renner. Renner tweeted a screenshot of the police report that stated that Strache was addicted to Clash of Clans.
The police investigation was dropped in 2015 as “M” refused to offer anymore information to authorities. FPÖ opposition was not satisfied with the explanation for the stop of the investigation. Austrian Parliament member Dr. Stephanie Krisper of the New Austria and Liberal Forum (NEOS) called for continued investigation. There have been other accusations of Strache spending party money on Clash of Clans, but he claimed it was an accident and that the party was fully reimbursed. The new allegations has restarted investigations but Clash of Clans developer Supercell has not been co-operative and refused to release account information. Strache allegedly goes by the name “Heinrich” in game. If Strache is found guilty, he could receive three years of jail time for misappropriation of funds.
These allegations has lead to FPÖ removing Strache from the party in October. Strache resigned from office as Vice-Chancellor of Austria after the “Ibiza” scandal, in which he allegedly accepted money and political favor from a female who posed as Alyona Makarova, the supposed niece of Russian oligarch Igor Makarov.
Clash of Clans is a free to play mobile game that sustains itself with micro-transactions. Clash of Clans has been criticized for its long wait times to upgrade base buildings or to collect resources. Clash of Clans generates $654,000 day though micro-transactions and was the most lucrative mobile game of 2013.