Meter Enforcer and Spouse Arrested in €1m Parking Embezzlement Investigation
One meter attendant and his spouse have been detained on allegations of misappropriating over €1m from the parking meters of a small town in Germany.
The unnamed municipal employee is believed to have removed cash from parking meters in the town on numerous occasions and deposited them in bank accounts that his spouse had control over, local police stated in a release.
A financial crime alert by a bank notified investigators to the suspected embezzlement. The parking inspector has been accused with 720 counts of embezzlement, while his spouse is charged with multiple counts of aiding and abetting the crime.
The town's Head Thomas Kiechle expressed he was stunned and dismayed by the claims.
In the fall, the local legal authorities were notified that money was repeatedly being deposited into multiple accounts, as reported by reports.
Officers then searched office premises in the early hours of November 24, the same day that a man in his forties and a woman in her late thirties were arrested.
They are now being held in different jails.
It is not clear how long it might have taken the couple to accrue the sum.
In reaction to the accusations, Kiechle announced the formation of a commission to review past work processes, uncover possible flaws, and effectively remedy them for the future.
Kiechle noted that the names of the individuals could not at this time be disclosed due to the ongoing investigation and confidentiality issues.
In a official comment, the mayor said: "I naturally support the public prosecutor's office and the law enforcement in their thorough investigation of the allegations."
"Until the case are resolved, the presumption of innocence stands," he added.
The town is one of the oldest settlements in Germany. Located in the country's south, it sits under the hills of the Allgäu region and has around 70,000 inhabitants.
