North Rhine-Westphalia
Second process after acid attack on manager begins: The search for the client
Top manager Bernhard Günther still suspects that the acid attack on him had a professional background
© Oliver Berg / DPA
The acid attack on top manager Bernhard Günther caused horror in 2018. Almost six years later, a second suspect has to stand trial for the gruesome act. But who was the client?
One of the perpetrators has now been legally sentenced to twelve years in prison. Another trial will begin in the regional court on Wednesday. Then a 36-year-old has to answer as a defendant. He is said to have been the second masked man.
The 36-year-old had already been arrested once, and Günther even said he recognized him. Nevertheless, the man was released again because the evidence was not enough. But last spring the handcuffs clicked again.
The second defendant has remained silent so far
Investigators and the judiciary have so far remained tight-lipped about what has now strengthened the suspicions against him. Just this much: The already convicted Belgian named names during his testimony in the courtroom and described things that gave rise to further investigations, says a spokeswoman for the public prosecutor’s office.
The presiding judge had already indicated this in his reasons for the verdict: circumstances had come to light according to which Günther could have been right in recognizing the other man.
The judges cannot expect a confession. The defendant has so far remained silent about the allegations and is likely to continue to do so. “The charges are based entirely on circumstantial evidence,” says his defense attorney Urban Slamal.
In contrast to the first trial, Bernhard Günter initially wants to stay away from the trial. “He wants to wait until he has given his testimony on January 11th,” says his lawyer Martin Meinberg.
Who ordered the acid attack on Bernhard Günther is unclear
The aim is still to bring to light the person responsible for the dastardly attack. He doesn’t give up hope, says Meinberg. After all, the proceedings had already been discontinued and now another suspected accomplice was threatened with a long prison sentence.
The tip-off about the defendant and the convicted man came from an unknown whistleblower who gave the names in return for substantial payments of more than 150,000 euros. The energy company Innogy, where Günther was CFO at the time of the crime, offered a high reward for the perpetrators to be caught.
Günther, now 56, had to undergo multiple operations. Eyelids and parts of his facial skin were transplanted. From the perspective of Günther’s lawyer Martin Meinberg, the attack was about removing Günther as a professional competitor.
At the time, Günther was CFO of the energy company Innogy, which was taken over by the Eon Group a few days later. He suspects a professional client is the mastermind, but doesn’t give a name. Such an act was unique in economic life, Meinberg said.
The attack did not achieve its potential goal of ruining Günther’s future as a top manager: he returned to his board position after the attack. Today he is CFO of the Finnish energy company Fortum, which employs more than 19,000 people.