Scandal about former VHS accountant: illustrated 235,000 euros!

Scandal about former VHS accountant: illustrated 235,000 euros!

A recent case from Delmenhorst raises questions about financial control in public institutions. A 65-year-old accountant of the Volkshochschule (VHS) Delmenhorst was convicted of commercial infidelity in 230 cases. The sums that have been transferred to his own account over a period of almost ten years add up to over 230,000 euros. However, part of the funds, 173 of the total of 235,000 euros, is time -barred. The Delmenhorst district court had already sentenced the accused to be probation for two years, which the public prosecutor considered too mild and went into account. Weser-Kurier demanded.

How did these considerable irregularities come about? The accountant was authorized to carry out transfers from the VHS business account. After the departure of another accountant, there was no more functioning four-eye principle, which simplified surveillance. In addition, the fraud was finally started by discovering a new accountant who noticed suspicious transfers. The public only learned about these incidents in June 2023 when a corresponding public interest became clear and the city of Delmenhorst announced measures to improve control. Delmenews

the legal consequences

The district court of Oldenburg checked the case again. The 65-year-old was fully confessed in the first procedure and has already paid around 118,000 euros in damages, making it 42,000 euros from a dissolved life insurance and 76,000 euros from his company pension. Despite his pension, which could in any case be shortened for garnishment purposes, the defense advocated rejecting the appeal because the man started to remedy the damage. Ultimately, the court ruled that he now has a prison sentence of two years and five months and has to pay back around 192,000 euros.

background and prevention

The case not only throws a shadow on the internal control of the VHS, but also shows how important transparency and trust in the public sector are. Initiatives to introduce an effective four-eye principle are necessary to prevent such incidents in the future. According to an internationally carried out study on fraud and corruption in public institutions, it can be seen that the use of AI applications and data analyzes can make significant progress in fraud prevention by recognizing anomalies at an early stage and increasing operational efficiency. SAS In this sense, public institutions in Delmenhorst and beyond, in addition, have to do more. to recognize and fight.