Augsburg (dpa/lby) – A major case of bribery at the Swabian Lech steelworks has to be partially renegotiated after a decision by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH). The judgment of the Augsburg Regional Court from June 2021 became mostly final after the decision, said district court spokesman Michael Rauh on Friday. The BGH had published its judgment the day before.
According to the information, the prison sentence of four years and three months for a former steel works manager who had stopped his hand was confirmed in the appeal process. A subcontractor at the plant who paid the bribes to get orders remains in prison for three years and nine months.
Another white collar crime chamber of the Augsburg district court must now make a new decision on individual points of the indictment. Among other things, the proceedings also concerned a kitchen in the private apartment of the steelworks boss, which cost almost 60,000 euros, which was officially passed off as a company canteen and is also said to have been a form of bribery. The acquittals for the two main accused in this regard must now be reviewed again. The fixed confiscation of money from those involved in the proceedings also has to be renegotiated in some cases.
The bribery system at the steel mills has occupied the Augsburg judiciary for years. In addition to the main proceedings at the district court, several smaller cases also ended up at the district court. According to the judgment of the regional court at the time, the corruption system was essentially operated by a managing director of a subsidiary of the steel works, who has since died. The criminal court found that the man wanted to become a millionaire with the bribes.
The Lech steel works produce 1.1 million tons of steel annually. The approximately 800 employees deal in particular with the recycling of scrap cars. The steelworks therefore describes itself as Bavaria’s largest recycling company.