Meter Inspector and Wife Arrested in €1m Meter Theft Investigation
One parking inspector and his spouse have been detained on allegations of embezzling over €1m out of the parking meters of a modest town in Germany.
The unnamed city worker is believed to have removed coins from street meters in Kempten on multiple instances and placed them in financial accounts that his wife had access to, local police stated in a statement.
A money laundering report by a bank alerted authorities to the alleged embezzlement. The parking inspector has been charged with numerous charges of embezzlement, while his wife is charged with 720 counts of assisting in theft.
Kempten Head the mayor expressed he was stunned and dismayed by the claims.
In the fall, the local legal authorities were informed that money was repeatedly being placed into multiple bank accounts, according to sources.
Police then raided office premises in the early hours of November 24, the same day that a 40-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman were arrested.
They are now being detained in separate detention facilities.
It is not clear how long it might have taken the couple to accrue the sum.
In reaction to the accusations, the mayor declared the formation of a commission to examine previous work processes, uncover potential flaws, and reliably correct them for the future.
He 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 certainly back the legal authorities and the law enforcement in their detailed inquiry of the claims."
"Until the proceedings are concluded, the innocent until proven guilty stands," he continued.
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 region and has around 70,000 residents.
