Munich entrepreneur in court: nearly €700,000 in coronavirus aid for brothel renovation
A 44-year-old property manager allegedly unlawfully claimed bridging assistance during the pandemic. The trial before the economic criminal chamber has begun.
Subsidy fraud: defendant largely admits to allegations
The trial against a 44-year-old property manager began on Tuesday before the economic criminal chamber at Munich I Regional Court, with prosecutors accusing him of subsidy fraud during the coronavirus pandemic. According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Munich entrepreneur Christoph N. allegedly obtained nearly €700,000 in bridging assistance through false statements to the Munich and Upper Bavaria Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
N. operates a brothel in northern Munich through a limited company, where he rents rooms to sex workers. According to the indictment, the fraudulently obtained funds were intended to finance the "non-eligible complete renovation" of the brothel. Additionally, the 44-year-old heads a pan-European agency that recruits dancers for nightclubs on commission, as well as a table dance club on Mallorca.
At the end of last year, N. was arrested by police in Spain and extradited to Germany. Since then, he has been held in custody at Munich-Stadelheim correctional facility. Before Judge Andrea Wagner, the presiding judge of the economic criminal chamber, he expressed his "long-term plan" to move to Mallorca.
Tax advisor co-indicted
N. allegedly filed the bridging assistance applications through his tax advisor Martin L. The 59-year-old is likewise indicted for subsidy fraud but remains free. Investigations assume that L. was informed of all proceedings. Proceedings against another of N.'s tax advisors were discontinued in exchange for a monetary penalty of €30,000.
Partial admission by defendant
In a statement read by his defence attorney Andreas Remiger, N. largely admitted to the allegations in the indictment. However, he denies having pursued a "well-developed plan" and having "deliberately falsified" the figures in the applications. The public prosecutor, by contrast, assumes that the figures provided were claimed by the defendant "without any basis whatsoever".
N. stated that during the pandemic he had merely tried to keep his brothel business operating. Today, he is aware that the renovation of the establishment "was not eligible for subsidy". The statement concluded with the words: "I am prepared to take responsibility." The 44-year-old initially made no further statements on the matter. According to his defence attorney, €115,000 of the damages incurred have already been reimbursed to the Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
Co-defendant rejects serious allegation
The defence attorney of tax advisor L., solicitor Sascha Petzold, also made a statement at the start of proceedings. In it, he rejected the allegation that his client had committed a particularly serious case of subsidy fraud. It was not apparent why L. would have filed the applications out of "gross self-interest". A verdict in the proceedings is expected in early October.
Source: Süddeutsche Zeitung