Major Trial in Leoben

Defendant Confesses: “I Wanted to Cover It Up!”

The gripping trial of a successful entrepreneur began Wednesday at the State Criminal Court.(Bild: Sepp Pail)

A man from Upper Styria is accused of embezzling millions as the managing director of a subsidiary of an Upper Austrian company. A hunter brought the case to light. At the start of the high-profile trial on Wednesday in Leoben, the defendant (75) admitted to wrongdoing.

The scale of the case—as we previously reported —is considerable for the Leoben Criminal Court: The defendant is alleged to have embezzled a total of 3.54 million euros. If the ongoing proceedings against his wife are included, the total amounts to just under five million euros. “With such a large sum, you face a severe penalty if convicted,” Judge Armin Scheck clarified, pointing out to the defendant that a confession would be a significant mitigating factor.

“Abused his authority”
“He knowingly abused his authority as managing director,” prosecutor Barbara Uller accuses the 75-year-old. For example, a hunter was paid nearly 440,000 euros over the years, even though he served only as a supervisory gamekeeper on his son’s private hunting grounds. The son had served as managing director alongside his father but tragically passed away two years ago. The defendant is alleged to have granted his son excessive bonus payments—nearly three million euros, according to the prosecutor.

“I was a dynamic person and knew how to get my way.”

Der Angeklagte (75)

On top of that, there were personal expenses for a solar power system, household appliances, company cars, and much more, all of which were charged to the company. “He acted as if he were the sole owner, the sole shareholder, the boss—as if there were no boundaries between personal and corporate assets,” the prosecutor denounced. However, she does not dispute that the defendant did a great deal for the company.

All parties involved can expect a lengthy trial.(Bild: Stockner Eva, Krone KREATIV)

Payments to Son Were Lawful, According to the Defendant
The retiree himself is evasive, refusing to give clear answers to any questions from the panel of judges or the prosecutor. Eventually, he fully admits his guilt in the Jäger case. “I knew it. It was a mistake. I wanted to cover it up.” He also partially admits to making personal purchases at the company’s expense. However, he claims that the payments to his son were all lawful and had been approved by the shareholders.

The question is whether it went so far that you did things that weren’t okay—but you ran things in such a way that no one dared to say anything.

Richter Armin Scheck zum Angeklagten

The fact that there was no contract for this was a general problem. “Nothing was put in writing. That’s how I lived for 35 years.” – “But you do realize that there are witnesses who say you were the boss and that neither your son nor anyone else was allowed to make a decision in the company without you. Not even about changing the cleaning product,” says the judge. “I’m a dynamic person and knew how to get my way.” After all, decisions had to be made.

Why was the accountant afraid of being fired?
“It’s clear that you have to be a go-getter; otherwise, you can’t build a career like that. The only question is whether it went so far that you did things that weren’t okay, but ran things in such a way that no one dared to say anything,” the presiding judge suggests. Or why else would the accountant have been so afraid of being fired?

The trial was adjourned, in part to summon additional witnesses and possibly appoint an expert in accounting.