crime
Former chief prosecutor is on trial for bribery
The wing of the building in which the General Prosecutor’s Office is based is located in Frankfurt’s court district. photo
© Arne Dedert/dpa
In Frankfurt today, a high-ranking lawyer takes a seat in the dock. Also accused is an entrepreneur whose company prepared expert opinions for the judiciary. The affair drew wide circles.
The trial against a former senior public prosecutor begins today (10:00 a.m.) in front of the Frankfurt district court. At the Frankfurt Public Prosecutor’s Office, he headed a nationwide central office for combating property crime and corruption in the health care system. Now he has to answer in court on suspicion of corruption.
The official is said to have given expert opinions for the judiciary to an acquaintance and received a bribe for them. The lawyer is accused of commercial corruption and tax evasion. The entrepreneur from the Hochtaunus district, whose company had prepared the reports, is also in the dock. He is accused of commercial bribery and subsidy fraud.
Initially, 22 appointments are scheduled until the end of March, 26 witnesses were invited. The former top lawyer faces up to 15 years in prison. The company of the co-defendant is said to have received orders totaling 12.5 million euros from the Hessian judiciary. The lawyer is said to have collected around 280,000 euros in bribes between 2015 and 2020 – the period that has not yet expired.
charges
In the indictment, the lawyer is accused of bribery and tax evasion as well as serious breaches of trust. This complex was initially separated. However, since the investigations have now been completed, according to the public prosecutor’s office, the parts of the process may be reunited at the beginning of the process.
Two prosecutors who worked with the chief prosecutor have since been suspended. You are accused of aiding and abetting infidelity in office. The investigation is still ongoing. Other employees of the company are also being investigated. You are suspected of having actually billed hours not worked. A second company that provided IT services for the central office is also being investigated.
The investigations, which have been running since 2019, caused a nationwide stir, shook the judiciary and shook up politics. The then Hessian Minister of Justice Eva Kühne-Hörmann (CDU) spoke of unprecedented allegations that still stunned her. These were acts with high criminal energy. The opposition in the state parliament saw the case as a serious loss of trust and reputation in the judiciary.