As of: April 16, 2024 6:10 a.m
The trial surrounding the former Elsfleth shipyard begins today in Oldenburg. She was supposed to renovate the “Gorch Fock” in 2015, which resulted in a major scandal. It’s about allegations of fraud and corruption.
A mammoth trial begins at the Oldenburg regional court: three criminal proceedings against six defendants are bundled into a collective trial. 40 days of negotiations have already been scheduled until mid-December. Because of the great interest in the case, the hearing will take place in the Weser-Ems Halls. The trial begins this morning. The trial is also directed against, among other things, two former board members of the Elsfleth shipyard.
AUDIO: “Gorch Fock”: Trial against former board members of the Elsfleth shipyard (April 16, 2024) (3 min)
Background to the “Gorch Fock” trial
The investigation into the Elsfleth shipyard has been ongoing since December 2018. The shipyard was commissioned by the German Navy to repair several ships and boats, including the renovation of the naval training ship “Gorch Fock”. According to the indictment, the criminal proceedings involve, among other things, corruption, fraud, breach of trust and bribery. Because there was “a chain of errors” in the renovation of the sailing training ship, as the then Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) said.
Costs explode 14-fold
The Elsfleth shipyard was originally supposed to carry out minor repair and inspection work on the “Gorch Fock” in 2015. The calculated costs were 9.6 million euros, but then rose to 135 million euros. Auditors from the Federal Audit Office criticized the fact that there had been neither a comprehensive investigation of the sailing training ship nor sensible planning. In 2019, the former shipyard filed for bankruptcy and repairs to the ship were put on hold. The repairs were supposed to take four months, but the ship only returned after more than five and a half years. The Lürssen shipyard in Bremen was responsible for completing the ship.
Videos
4 Min
Defense Minister von der Leyen speaks of a “chain of errors” regarding the renovation of the Gorch Fock. The repair costs were clearly underestimated. 4 mins
Charges against two former board members of the Elsfleth shipyard
According to the Osnabrück public prosecutor’s office, the two former managers of the Elsfleth shipyard are said to have negotiated discounts with the shipyard’s subcontractors. They therefore kept these discounts secret from the Navy in order to enrich themselves with the bonus. That added up to around 7.2 million euros. If convicted, the two men face prison sentences of between six months and ten years. The trial is also directed against a former navy controller who was responsible for the cost review of the repairs to the “Gorch Fock” at the time. He turned himself in for corruption in 2018 and confessed to having received two loans worth 400,000 euros each from his former bosses.
Confiscated information to Ministry of Defense
In 2019, an NDR documentary showed the results of internal investigations in the Ministry of Defense. These revealed that important information was apparently withheld from the then Defense Minister, presumably so that she would agree to the repairs. The original recommendation was to stop work on the “Gorch Fock” and rebuild the ship. However, this statement was deleted, so Ursula von der Leyen received the opposite recommendation to renovate the ship.
Further information
Hardly any German ship is better known than the “Gorch Fock”. A trial on allegations of fraud and corruption is now beginning in Oldenburg. more
Traditional ships are the visual highlights at harbor festivals and tall ship meetings. A selection of historical tall ships and steamships in portrait. (03/04/2024) more
14 tall ships are taking part in the Sailing Cup. It is considered the oldest regatta for traditional sailors on the German North Sea coast. (09/30/2023) more
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NDR 1 Lower Saxony | Current | April 16, 2024 | 06:00 am