Image: APA
The indictment, which was submitted to the Eisenstadt regional court, is directed against three people for extortion and embezzlement – the latter is said to concern ex-bank boss Martin Pucher. The damage amounts to 70,000 euros, the investigations against other suspects in the case are still ongoing, the WKStA announced on Tuesday.
A former employee of the bank is said to have threatened to expose malpractices in the bank when his employment was terminated in 2017. For his silence, he is said to have been given cash amounting to 70,000 euros from the bank’s funds. The handover of the money, which was initiated by two board members – the WKStA does not name names, but they are probably ex-boss Martin Pucher and fellow board member Franziska Klikovits – caused damage to Commerzialbank, it is also said.
The indictment was filed after the approval of a project report by the Vienna Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Ministry of Justice in accordance with the Instructions Council. The penalty for extortion is a prison sentence of six months to five years; embezzlement is punishable by a prison sentence of up to three years.
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