Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) – A Düsseldorf restaurateur has unsuccessfully demanded the release of 72,000 euros from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The money had been secured from a guest in the basement of one of his businesses at a gaming table. The restaurateur has no claim to the money, the Düsseldorf Administrative Court found on Monday. He couldn’t make it credible that it was his money.
The restaurateur claimed that the money did not belong to the guest, but to him. The guest was a business partner to whom he had given the money shortly beforehand: he was supposed to use it to buy inventory for a new bistro on his behalf. He had demonstrably rented the rooms for this months beforehand.
The police had checked the café for suspected violations of the Corona requirements. During the check, the police officers found three men in the basement of the bar who were sitting at a gaming table with chips and carrying large amounts of cash.
The state of North Rhine-Westphalia refused to hand over the money because it had doubts about its legal origin. Rightly so, said the judge: In view of the finding situation, there is much to suggest that the sum came from illegal gambling (Az.: 18 K 5584/20).
