Parking Inspector and Wife Apprehended in €1 Million Meter Theft Case
One meter attendant and his wife have been arrested on suspicion of embezzling over €1m from the coin-operated meters of a small town in Germany.
The unnamed city worker is believed to have taken cash out of street meters in the town on multiple instances and placed them in bank accounts that his spouse had control over, authorities said in a statement.
A financial crime report by a credit institution notified authorities to the suspected embezzlement. The attendant has been accused with 720 counts of embezzlement, while his wife faces multiple counts of assisting in theft.
The town's Mayor the mayor expressed he was shocked and disappointed by the allegations.
In October, the local legal authorities were notified that cash was repeatedly being placed into several accounts, as reported by sources.
Police then searched work locations in the morning of November 24, the same day that a 40-year-old man and a woman in her late thirties were arrested.
They are now being detained in separate detention facilities.
It is not clear how long it might have required the pair to accumulate the sum.
In reaction to the allegations, the mayor declared the appointment of a committee to review previous work processes, identify possible flaws, and reliably remedy them for the future.
Kiechle noted that the names of the individuals could not at this time be released due to the active probe and privacy concerns.
In a written statement, Kiechle said: "I certainly support the legal authorities and the police in their thorough inquiry of the claims."
"Until the proceedings are concluded, the presumption of innocence stands," he continued.
The town is among the oldest settlements in Germany. Situated in the country's south, it sits under the slopes of the Allgäu and has approximately 70,000 inhabitants.
