Fraud scandal: – Another hospital employee suspended

As far as he knows, the man has not yet been listed as a suspect, said Fleisch, who did not assume that there were other ‘black sheep’ among his employees. He believes it is important to protect the 5,000 employees who do excellent work. The prosecutor’s office in Feldkirch, which was already very silent about the case, did not comment on the investigation on Friday.

The now ten suspects, three of whom are in custody, are said to have caused millions of euros in damage due to excessive bills for expansion and new construction. Siemens has been supplying the KHBG with technology and infrastructure for years, previously referring to ongoing investigations. The focus is on a Siemens employee, a pensioner and two former employees of the construction department of KHBG, one of whom ran a private company in the construction industry as a part-time job.

There are two self-disclosures about the cause. The affair became public in August after house searches had taken place at KHBG and Hirschmann Automotive. In Vorarlberg, the rumor mill is spinning about other companies that have suffered damage. In any case, a lengthy investigation by the Public Prosecution Service can be assumed.

Fleisch was aware of the act and reiterated that the state hospitals were “victims of a huge network of fraud that clearly emanated from Siemens”. This also applies to many other well-known companies from Vorarlberg, who had not discovered the fraud either. Even Siemens, whose lawyers got the ball rolling after an internal audit with a statement of facts to the Public Prosecution Service, only came across the fraud when a whistleblower pointed it out. The case is so complex that the exact extent of the damage cannot yet be quantified, says Fleisch.

In any case, the super modern operating system that KHBG installed two years ago did not work. “There have never been any indications that it was painful, certainly not for the employees in the immediate vicinity.” According to Fleisch, the internal task force deployed by the KHBG is working on the investigation in close collaboration with the National Criminal Investigation Department. The external auditors, who have to scrutinize the internal control system (ICS) with a focus on the construction sector, have also started their work.

Employee allegedly billed for pool repairs
“If there are lessons to be learned from this, we will draw them,” emphasizes Fleisch. After all, the signs are good that the taxpayer will not be left with the damage: On the one hand, Siemens is sending positive signals in terms of chargebacks. And on the other hand, the suspected fraudsters have already deposited significant sums of money in compensation. “But even if nothing comes to a head financially, we will have to live with the damaged reputation,” Fleisch has no illusions.

Meanwhile, in a request to the state government, the SPÖ questioned how tight the KHBG’s control regime really was – especially since there should have been warning signs. For example, an employee tried to have the repairs to his swimming pool invoiced to KHBG. This was noticed at the KHBG because there is no swimming pool at all. “While you could assume that alarm bells should have been ringing in this case, apparently nothing happened in this particular case,” said SPÖ club president Manuela Auer. “It is also remarkable that the side activities of some of the suspects were apparently not recognized as a problem by anyone.”