The former board member Martin Pucher and his board colleague Franziska Klikovits are accused of embezzlement and an ex-employee of blackmail. The seriously ill Pucher did not appear at the trial, his lawyer Norbert Wess confirmed an ORF Burgenland report in response to an APA request.
The indictment by the economic and corruption public prosecutor’s office is directed against three people for extortion and embezzlement, the damage amounts to 70,000 euros. The former bank employee 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 – from Pucher and Klikovits.
Wess explained in a statement to the APA that Pucher cannot come for health reasons. However, he remains committed to his “full confessional responsibility and expressly agrees to a trial and sentencing regarding himself.” He told the court this on Monday. A trial in absentia is possible because in this case “only” a misdemeanor with damage of 70,000 euros and not a crime is being charged.
The investigations against other suspects in the extensive complex of proceedings are still ongoing. The trial on Tuesday begins at 9 a.m. in Hall 1 of the regional court and is scheduled to last until 3:30 p.m.
