Wegberg: LKA-NRW: Joint press release from the Wuppertal Public Prosecutor's Office and the North Rhine-Westphalia State Criminal Police Office

LKA-NRW: Joint press release from the Wuppertal Public Prosecutor's Office and the North Rhine-Westphalia State Criminal Police Office

Operation against Economic Crime - Around 200 investigators search residential and commercial premises - Damage in the millionsSince October last year, the LKA NRW has been investigating on behalf of the Wuppertal public prosecutor's office on suspicion of bribery and corruption, anti-competitive agreements in tenders, breach of trust and fraud in connection with the renovation of the State Chancellery. The proceedings are currently directed against seven individuals, including two women, aged between 36 and 69 years.

A witness's report and the audits of the internal revision of the NRW Construction and Property Agency set the ball rolling. The Wuppertal public prosecutor's office subsequently obtained over 40 court search warrants. These were executed today at a total of 57 properties. The measures serve to find evidence.

At the heart of the case of economic crime is the renovation of the State Chancellery, which has been ongoing since 2017. A witness's report and audits by the internal revision of the NRW Construction and Property Agency (BLB) had revealed irregularities, so that the Wuppertal public prosecutor's office, which took over the lead in the proceedings, was informed in addition to the state criminal investigation department. The suspicion of corrupt and fraudulent action in the awarding of one of the trades quickly hardened. There is, among other things, suspicion that the accused deliberately influenced contract awards in the area of the State Chancellery's lighting in order to subsequently cause damage to the BLB in the millions together with the winning bidder companies they had determined, via a large number of greatly inflated additional invoices.

In Düsseldorf, Mönchengladbach, Neuss, Erkrath, Wegberg and Münster, two public prosecutors and around 200 investigators from the NRW State Criminal Investigation Department and the local district police authorities have been in action since 6 a.m. this morning. The residential and commercial premises are the properties of the seven accused and companies associated with them.

During today's searches, documents, correspondence in digital and analogue form were secured in particular. The subsequent evaluation will show to what extent these are relevant to the evidence for the proceedings. The extensive investigations are ongoing.

For further inquiries, please contact:

State Criminal Investigation Department North Rhine-Westphalia
Völklinger Straße 49
40221 Düsseldorf
Phone: 0211/939-6666
Email: pressestelle.lka@polizei.nrw.de

Original content from: State Criminal Investigation Department North Rhine-Westphalia, transmitted by news aktuell

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