Parking Inspector and Wife Apprehended in €1 Million Meter Theft Investigation
A meter attendant and his spouse have been arrested on suspicion of embezzling over €1m from the coin-operated meters of a modest town in Germany.
The unnamed municipal employee is believed to have taken coins from parking meters in Kempten on numerous instances and deposited them in bank accounts that his spouse had control over, local police stated in a release.
A money laundering report by a credit institution alerted investigators to the suspected embezzlement. The attendant has been accused with 720 counts of theft, while his wife is charged with multiple counts of assisting in theft.
Kempten Mayor Thomas Kiechle said he was shocked and dismayed by the allegations.
In the fall, the Kempten legal authorities were informed that money was frequently being placed into multiple accounts, according to reports.
Police then raided office premises in the early hours of 24 November, the same day that a man in his forties and a 38-year-old woman were arrested.
They are now being detained in different detention facilities.
It is uncertain how long it might have taken the couple to accumulate the amount.
In reaction to the accusations, Kiechle declared the formation of a committee to examine past work processes, identify possible flaws, and reliably correct them for the coming years.
He noted that the names of the individuals could not at this time be released due to the ongoing probe and confidentiality issues.
In a written statement, Kiechle stated: "I naturally back the legal authorities and the police in their detailed investigation of the claims."
"Until the proceedings are resolved, the presumption of innocence stands," he continued.
Kempten is one of the oldest towns in Germany. Situated in the country's south, it sits under the slopes of the Allgäu region and has approximately seventy thousand inhabitants.
