Meter Inspector and Wife Apprehended in €1m Meter Embezzlement Investigation
One meter attendant and his spouse have been detained on suspicion of embezzling over €1m out of the parking meters of a modest German town.
The unnamed city worker is believed to have removed coins from parking meters in Kempten on multiple instances and deposited them in financial accounts that his wife had control over, local police stated in a release.
A financial crime report by a credit institution notified investigators to the alleged embezzlement. The attendant has been charged with numerous charges of embezzlement, while his spouse faces 720 counts of assisting in theft.
Kempten Head the mayor expressed he was stunned and disappointed by the allegations.
In October, the local legal authorities were informed that cash was repeatedly being placed into several bank accounts, as reported by sources.
Officers then raided 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 held in separate jails.
It is not clear how much time it might have taken the couple to accrue the sum.
In reaction to the accusations, the mayor announced the formation of a commission to examine previous procedures, identify possible flaws, and effectively correct them for the coming years.
Kiechle added that the identities of the couple could not currently be released due to the active probe and privacy concerns.
In a written statement, the mayor said: "I naturally back the legal authorities and the police in their detailed inquiry of the allegations."
"Until the case are resolved, the innocent until proven guilty applies," he added.
The town is among the most historic settlements in the country. Located in the country's south, it sits under the slopes of the Allgäu and has around seventy thousand residents.
