At some point the court will deal with the approximately 800 million euros in damage caused by the bankruptcy of Commerzialbank Mattersburg. A secondary trial in this case took place in Eisenstadt on Tuesday. Ex-boss Martin Pucher and vice-chairman K. were accused of embezzlement and the bank’s former representative had to answer for blackmail.
The special executive units, which had to protect Martin Pucher from possible attacks by defrauded Commerzialbank customers, patrolled the Eisenstadt Regional Court for nothing. The 67-year-old failed to show up in Eisenstadt – a medical report confirmed he was unfit to stand trial.
Pucher had said he was pleading guilty to this rather secondary case and agreeing to be tried in absentia. Karin Lückl, the president of the lay court, read further: “I sincerely apologize to everyone for the hardship and exorbitant damage I have caused.”
The main defendant considers himself a victim of bullying
Pucher and his deputy chairman K. were charged yesterday with embezzlement. It happened as follows: Main defendant H., a school dropout who had risen from counter clerk to branch manager and ultimately to authorized representative at the Commerzialbank, felt bullied by K. and therefore resigned at the end of 2017. During three conversations with Pucher, he allegedly took fifteen months’ salary as severance pay, while he was only entitled to nine months. These 200,000 euros were probably not enough for him, so according to the chief prosecutor he demanded another 70,000 euros from the bank boss – so that after his departure he would keep the irregularities in the loans to himself and not Pucher. have to go to prison.
The person who could not negotiate stuck to the fact that yes, that’s how it was, he had instructed Vice Chairman K. to get the 70,000 through the non-real money circuit that had now become common, instead of the amount from his own money to get. bag. Bank customers were therefore disadvantaged. K. put the 500 notes in an envelope, which Pucher would have given to H..
Vice-chairman K. has 800 million debts
H. vehemently denied the blackmail. “We parted on the best terms. When I told Pucher that I would not have achieved anything without him, he cried. There were never three meetings, he never asked for extra money and certainly never received it. The adventurous story of where the 57,000 euros came from, which H. deposited in cash into his account two weeks after the mutual termination, would be beyond the scope here.
K., who currently works as an employee “but is forced to subsistence level”, is in debt. “Hmmm, yes, 800 million euros, which have been forfeited.” This amount perfectly describes the total damage caused by the bankruptcy of Commerzialbank. K. confirmed Pucher’s envelope version. “What advantage would I have if I wrongfully accused H.?”
Pucher and K. were sentenced by the lay judges to eleven and eight months in prison respectively, of which three years were conditional. Officer H. got away with a suspended prison sentence of 16 months. He must also pay the extorted 70,000 euros to the curator and a fine of 9,600 euros. The statements are not legally binding.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
