In the management of the Springer group, the Reichelt case was apparently known for much longer than previously assumed. As the Financial Times reported on Tuesdaythe board of directors of the Berlin media company went to great lengths to avoid the numerous affairs and advances of the former image– to cover up editor-in-chief Julian Reichelt at work.
The British daily newspaper quotes a board member as saying that if the test results were made public, it would not be survivable (“not survivable”), and Reichelt’s head would not be the only one at stake. The research contradicts the version always communicated by Springer, that the group had no precise knowledge of the investigations of a law firm in-house.
Julian Reichelt had lost his job in the fall for abuse of power, he made “mistakes,” he said himself, and CEO Mathias Döpfner said the same thing. But he also stood by Reichelt after a compliance procedure by the Freshfields law firm, and in a text that became public to an acquaintance he described as the “last upright journalist” against the new “GDR authoritarian state” in view of the Corona measures. To this day, Döpfner insinuates that there is a big conspiracy behind the case and downplays the incidents to more or less a relationship with Reichelt at work.
Employees are said to have been more afraid of Reichelt than VW employees were of Winterkorn
As the FT reports, Döpfner suspects ideological enemies behind the case. He is said to have spoken of a “hate agenda”. This has nothing to do with sexism. That has nothing to do with MeToo,” he is quoted as saying. He is said to have hired a lawyer for a kind of counter-investigation, whom he commissioned to investigate those affected and alleged string pullers, for example against an ex-girlfriend of Reichelt who appeared as a witness, and two ” German satirists” who had publicly discussed the case. While one is apparently in image-Manier worked on the spin of the vengeful ex and the conspiracy against Springer, board member Stephanie Caspar is said to have always denied having heard of Reichelt’s affairs at work, according to FT, although at least five employees made complaints.
Freshfields told the FT that the investigation report presented the incidents, which were mostly anonymously described by several women, “clearly and impartially.” One of the lawyers is said to have told Reichelt that his employees were more afraid of him than the VW employees were at the time in front of her board member Winterkorn. Although those affected were assured of confidentiality during the compliance process, according to the FT, Reichelt was informed of the results of the investigation.
Only as the New York Times reported on the extent of the case, that Reichelt is said to have forged divorce papers in order to convince colleagues that he was available, that an employee was said to have been paid a larger sum with the requirement of confidentiality, Döpfner pulled the ripcord.
One of the former employees is “shocked” by the attitude at Springer
After all, Springer has an American investment company in-house with KKR. According to FT, however, this could have been less of a corrective with strict US compliance standards and more of an accomplice. David Petraeus, former CIA director and Chairman of KKR since 2013, and Julian Reichelt know each other from the time when Reichelt was a war reporter for the image reported on the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to the FT report, Petraeus is said to have spoken to KKR officials in Europe about Reichelt at the end of February. The article suggests he may have put in a good word for Reichelt in February.
After the publication on Tuesday morning, one of Reichelt’s former employees said on the phone that she was relieved that the case had now been disclosed. She was “shocked” by how much Springer was only concerned with the effect it had on the public, while “hardly any responsibility was taken for those affected.”
After publication, Springer said: “The article paints a misleading picture of the compliance investigation, the consequences drawn from it, the entire company and its management.” The media company had stated in the FT: “Looking back, we have to admit that we didn’t do everything right. Our biggest mistake was to trust (Reichelt) for too long.” Reichelt, in turn, told the FT that the allegations against him were “lies”. Despite all this, there is apparently a happy ending for him: he is said to be very happy with his current girlfriend, according to those around him, she is an employee at the image.