A parking inspector and his wife have been arrested on allegations of misappropriating more than €1m out of the coin-operated meters of a small German town.
The unnamed city worker is believed to have taken cash out of street meters in Kempten on multiple occasions and deposited them in financial accounts that his wife had access to, local police stated in a release.
A financial crime report by a bank notified investigators to the suspected theft. The parking inspector has been charged with 720 counts of theft, while his wife is charged with 720 counts of aiding and abetting theft.
The town's Mayor the mayor said he was shocked and disappointed by the allegations.
In October, the local legal authorities were notified that money was frequently being deposited into multiple bank accounts, according to sources.
Officers then searched work locations in the early hours of November 24, the very day that a man in his forties and a woman in her late thirties were arrested.
They are now being held in separate jails.
It is uncertain how much time it might have required the couple to accrue the sum.
In reaction to the accusations, the mayor announced the appointment of a committee to review previous procedures, uncover potential weaknesses, and reliably correct them for the future.
Kiechle added that the identities of the couple could not at this time be released due to the active probe and confidentiality issues.
In a written statement, Kiechle stated: "I certainly support the public prosecutor's office and the police in their thorough inquiry of the allegations."
"Until the case are resolved, the innocent until proven guilty stands," he added.
Kempten is one of the most historic settlements in the country. Situated in the southern region, it sits under the hills of the Allgäu region and has around seventy thousand residents.
