Parking Inspector and Spouse Arrested in €1m Meter Embezzlement Investigation
A meter attendant and his wife have been detained on suspicion of misappropriating over €1m out of the parking meters of a small town in Germany.
The unnamed municipal employee is believed to have removed cash from parking meters in Kempten on numerous occasions and placed them in bank accounts that his wife had control over, local police said in a release.
A money laundering alert by a bank alerted investigators to the suspected embezzlement. The parking inspector has been accused with 720 counts of theft, while his wife faces 720 counts of aiding and abetting theft.
The town's Mayor the mayor said he was shocked and disappointed by the claims.
In October, the local legal authorities were notified that money was frequently being placed into multiple bank accounts, according to reports.
Police then searched office premises in the morning of 24 November, the very day that a man in his forties and a woman in her late thirties were taken into custody.
They are now being held in different jails.
It is uncertain how much time it might have taken the couple to accumulate the sum.
In reaction to the accusations, Kiechle declared the appointment of a committee to examine previous work processes, identify possible flaws, and reliably correct them for the coming years.
Kiechle added that the identities of the individuals could not at this time be released due to the active probe and confidentiality issues.
In a written statement, Kiechle stated: "I naturally back the public prosecutor's office and the law enforcement in their detailed investigation of the allegations."
"Until the case are resolved, the innocent until proven guilty stands," he continued.
The town is one of the most historic settlements in the country. Situated in the country's south, it lies under the hills of the Allgäu and has around seventy thousand residents.
