In the course of the investigation against the former rbb director Patricia Schlesinger, the public prosecutor’s office in Berlin is now also looking at two other people. They are accused, among other things, of infidelity.
The Berlin public prosecutor’s office has expanded the investigation into the rbb affair.
They are now also directed against the administrative director and former deputy director and the legal director of rbb. The Attorney General informed the rbb on Tuesday on request.
They are accused of infidelity or aiding and abetting infidelity. The allegation relates in particular to the introduction of a variable remuneration system at rbb and continued salary payments to employees who are no longer employed.
In one of these cases it is a part-time manager. He still holds a permanent position in the Legal Directorate. According to rbb research, he will receive 700,000 euros by 2026, although he no longer works for the broadcaster. Not only the former rbb director Patricia Schlesinger, but also the legal director signed a corresponding “early retirement offer” for the then 57-year-old.
The so-called “variable remuneration system” in rbb had called the audit offices of Berlin and Brandenburg into action at the beginning of September. Both bodies announced an audit due to non-tariff bonus payments to executives at the station.
According to information from the rbb research team, rbb paid a five-digit sum to a consulting firm to develop the bonus system that became known in the course of the allegations against the director Schlesinger, who has since been fired without notice, and the resigned chief controller Wolf-Dieter Wolf. There are no such bonuses in other ARD houses. The board of directors of rbb has now decided to abolish the system.
The public prosecutor’s office has been investigating the former director Schlesinger since the beginning of August on suspicion of infidelity and acceptance of benefits. The presumption of innocence applies until clarification. According to the Attorney General, the investigations are ongoing, so no further information can be given at this time.
Broadcast: rbb24 evening show, October 4th, 2022, 7:30 p.m