Udo Foht wants to speak. But the little man with the white hair tied back in a ponytail feels too weak. It is his defense attorney who reads his client’s confession on Friday morning in the largest hall of the Leipzig Regional Court. Foht had been silent for eleven years. In the summer of 2011 it came to light that the then head of entertainment at MDR had begged large sums of money for shows and television productions from several companies, but also from private individuals. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to pay the money back.
After years of investigation and a postponement due to illness, the trial against the 71-year-old had begun last week. The 64-page indictment deals with fraud, breach of trust, bribery and tax evasion in several cases. However, the public prosecutor’s office had proposed an agreement: because many of the charges relate to events that happened a long time ago, because the evidence would be difficult and lengthy – and because Foht had to wait so long for this process, the proceedings are partially discontinued. In return, Foht is expected to make a full confession on the other charges. And that’s what his defense attorney, Lawrence Desnizza, reads for a good quarter of an hour. It’s personal, emotional – and paints the picture of an old man who actually only wanted to produce good television entertainment his whole life.
Foht says he always wanted to realize his idea of entertainment and wasn’t aiming for a career
“My remaining lifetime has become manageable,” writes Foht. He now has an “urgent need” to explain himself. His livelihood was taken away from him at the time by the media reports. He couldn’t get any real work, neither at home nor abroad. Public prejudice destroyed his life’s work. He was not out for a career, he always wanted to realize his idea of entertainment. This also included the format We are everywherethe former river boat-Moderator Carsten Weidling developed with his support. Weidling wanted to travel the world as a freelance reporter for the documentary series and visit East German emigrants in distant countries. A costly project. Many of the charges that Foht now admits relate to this.
Foht explains that he has worked hard to get the MDR to set up a development fund. A pot in which there would have been money for production expenses in advance – so that the MDR does not only pay after the program has been completed. But there was never anything like that before he left. Instead, the accused criticizes, the public broadcaster was only concerned with “continuing what was already well known.” And about how many programs of already successful formats would be produced less in the future in order to meet savings targets.
Foht admits that in several cases he has taken out loans of up to five figures. He wanted to pre-finance shipments with it. Once it was also about a performance by Gloria Gaynor at the audience award “Goldene Henne”. In doing so, he had exceeded his competencies, “a big mistake (…) like everything else”. In two cases he could no longer remember what the exact reason for the loan was.
Foht’s financiers included former music manager and television producer Werner Kimmig, pop singer and presenter Florian Silbereisen, and his manager Michael Jürgens. He consciously risked not being able to pay them back the money on time, says Foht. Until his sacking in 2011, the TV exec had entangled himself in a growing tangle of loans to plug the holes.
For a personal apology, Foht then takes the floor himself
But why did managers and producers give him money? Was there airtime or other benefits in return? According to Foht’s confession, the “lenders had no benefit,” only “damage.” He would like to apologize for that. He was obsessed with his work. “I don’t understand myself anymore today.”
A former MDR employee also lent Foht money out of his own pocket. The 84-year-old is the first witness to appear in court. He gave Foht 5,000 euros many years ago, he says. A colleague who also worked at MDR and knew Foht later told him: “You’ll never get that again.”
Foht wants to personally apologize to this witness. It is his first lengthy speech in this process. This case is particularly sad for him, he says. “The other thing, they were companies…” In this case, however, he cheated a colleague who was about to retire out of a large sum. “In hindsight, I’m sorry and I apologize for that,” Foht says in a low voice through his FFP-2 mask.
However, Foht does not apologize to his former broadcaster. “Hopefully, Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk was not harmed,” says the confession read out by the lawyer. In the Leipzig MDR building, less than three kilometers away, things are seen differently. An MDR spokeswoman for SZ confirmed before the trial began that Foht had violated service instructions and caused financial damage to the broadcaster. Above all, the reputation of the station suffered.