Black money: Berlin customs find large sum of cash in children's room

Almost 1 million euros: that's how much cash Berlin customs officers have seized in a child's bedroom. A former managing director is alleged to have embezzled wages.

Berlin customs made a find during a house search. Around 990,000 euros were found in a sports bag filled with bundles of money. The Financial Control of Illegal Employment had investigated a former managing director in the transport and logistics sector on behalf of the Berlin public prosecutor's office. The accusation: withholding and embezzling wages.

Money was hidden in the closet

The operation took place at the end of January 2023 in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district. The big find was in a closet in a child's room. The searching officers discovered bundles of money in an inconspicuous sports bag - neatly divided into 100 and 200 euro bills.

Accused allegedly evaded social security contributions

The capital's Financial Control Office for Illegal Employment had already been investigating a former managing director for several weeks. Background: Employers are obliged to register their employees and pay their social security contributions to the social insurance institutions (e.g. health insurance funds and employers' liability insurance associations). Anyone who fails to meet deadlines or even withholds payment of the corresponding contributions out of self-interest is liable to prosecution under Section 266a of the German Criminal Code (StGB).

The accused is now facing precisely this accusation. He is alleged to have knowingly evaded the social security contributions due.