Prosecution against Rudi Assauer's daughter fails – Essen regional court refuses to open proceedings
The Essen regional court has rejected the charge of fraud concerning the estate of former Schalke manager Rudi Assauer. All three defendants remain without criminal penalty for now.
Essen regional court allows fraud charge in Rudi Assauer estate dispute to fail
The Essen regional court has rejected the prosecution's charges against Bettina Michel, the daughter of deceased Schalke manager Rudi Assauer, as well as against his long-serving private secretary and an acquaintance of the football executive. As reported by Google News DE – Crime (de), the sixth criminal chamber refused to open the main proceedings. The corresponding decision is available to the German Press Agency and was served on the secretary's lawyer, Hans Reinhardt.
In May, the prosecution had accused the three defendants of fraud conducted on an organised and commercial basis. They are said to have enriched themselves from the estate of Assauer, who suffered from severe Alzheimer's disease and died in February 2019 at the age of 74. According to the current state of investigation, the court sees no sufficient suspicion of wrongdoing: a conviction is not to be expected.
Property sales at the core of the allegations
Specifically, the prosecution accused the defendants of selling two of Assauer's properties during his lifetime without being authorised to do so. As a basis, they are said to have presented a power of attorney from 2012, which, in the prosecution's view, was not valid – Assauer was no longer legally capable of conducting business at that time due to his illness. A total sum of €767,080 was at stake.
The prosecution additionally charged the daughter with submitting false statutory declarations. However, the Essen regional court did not rule on this allegation – it did not consider itself locally competent to do so.
Starting point: investigations by "Die Zeit"
The investigations were triggered by research conducted by the weekly newspaper "Die Zeit". For roughly five years, police and the Essen prosecution pursued the question of why Assauer was nearly destitute by the end of his life. "According to his tax records, Assauer had assets of around €2.3 million in 2010, and by his death in 2019 almost nothing remained," said "Die Zeit" editor Stefan Willeke in an interview with the WAZ. He reported on "dubious contracts for the sale of Assauer's properties", in which no account details were sometimes specified.
Assauer had granted the power of attorney to his secretary and a befriended cosmetic surgeon in 2012. Both managed his financial affairs until his death. The doctor was originally one of four defendants; he has since died. In summer 2018, approximately €264,000 is said to have flowed into an account of the authorised representatives. When Assauer died in February 2019, an asset statement compiled by his daughter recorded €15,000 in cash, company shares worth €25,000, a suit, a coat, a pipe, a broken pair of spectacles frames, a Rolex, some furniture and a ten-year-old Opel Meriva.
Initially, the prosecution investigated for breach of fiduciary duty; ultimately it brought charges of fraud conducted on an organised and commercial basis. Senior public prosecutor Leif Seeger, spokesman for the authority, had announced the conclusion of the proceedings in April and pointed to the considerable work involved in evaluating several years of investigation results. Whether the decision represents the final end of the proceedings is unclear: the prosecution may lodge an immediate appeal against the refusal to open proceedings with the Higher Regional Court Hamm.
Assauer's legacy beyond sport
Rudi Assauer was manager of FC Schalke 04 from 1981 to 1986 and again from 1993 to 2006. With his cigar and determination, he shaped the Bundesliga over decades and led the former scandal-plagued club into the Champions League. His name is also associated with the tears after the missed championship in 2001 – when Schalke became "champions of hearts" – as well as with the DFB-Pokal, which slipped from his hands in 2002.
Assauer died on 6 February 2019 in his hometown of Herten and was buried anonymously in the Schlosswald between Herten and Gelsenkirchen. Since April this year, granite plaques bearing his photograph at the Schalke Fan Field cemetery have commemorated the manager – in the place of honour numbered 04. The bereaved had disputed his legacy for years.
(with dpa)
Source: Google News DE — Crime (de)