From burnout to bomb making
In addition, the German who last lived in Switzerland has to pay around half a million euros to the company. The man had extorted this amount in the cryptocurrency Bitcoin from the drugstore chain in September 2019. In order to emphasize his claim, he detonated an explosive device outside of business hours in a Freiburg dm branch in the cat food area using an alarm clock as a timer. Nobody got hurt. However, according to the court, the detonation caused “proper devastation”: shelves flew over and broke, goods lay on the floor. The court estimated the damage at around 30,000 euros. The motive: After repeated burnout after many night shifts, he was no longer able to work as a nurse and wanted to secure an income until retirement. “I didn’t know what to do anymore,” the defendant, who grew up in Augsburg and Constance, explained the crime at the start of the trial. The weapons collector remembered his know-how with bitcoins and fireworks. He was able to organize the ingredients for the explosives in Switzerland without any difficulties.
How far would the accused have gone?
The key question in the process was: How far would the man have gone if the company had not paid? He himself asserted: “I didn’t want to harm anyone.” He just wanted to create as much “disorder” in the store as possible so that his demands would be taken seriously. After the explosion, however, he threatened in a letter claiming responsibility that “this warning shot got off more than lightly”. In doing so, he suggested that he would not shy away from injuring or killing people, according to the court. That’s the only reason the company paid – out of concern for customers and employees. In the verdict, the presiding judge certified that the accused had “high criminal energy”. The fact that the court still fell short of the prosecutor’s demand (nine years) was partly due to the fact that no one was injured, the accused fully admitted to the crime and that there is a high probability that the entire damage can be paid, according to the judge . “He gave up everything he could possibly have left.” Over 350,000 euros have already been withdrawn from Bitcoin accounts. Various vehicles and a yacht can also be turned into money. Because the accused was comparatively frugal: “He didn’t squander the money,” as the judge stated.
Snapped for Amazon purchase
With the money he was extorted from, he led an inconspicuous life – and he fulfilled a dream: He got his boat license and bought a motorboat, which he used to sail to France. He had long thought he was safe when the handcuffs clicked after almost three years. Until then, he had managed to disguise the origin of the money by mixing bitcoins with other cryptocurrencies. The fact that he was caught in the end is thanks to the investigators’ persistence, know-how and meticulous work. “It is a great success for the police and the public prosecutor’s office in Karlsruhe,” said the judge. With the help of an expert in cryptocurrencies, the investigators tracked transaction chains, evaluated flight routes and put the pieces of the jigsaw together piece by piece. Inspector Random also came to their aid: After an “XY” television program in which a surveillance camera showed the blackmailer in a bizarre outfit with glasses and a wig, a viewer reported: The wig looked familiar to him – it’s available from Amazon. The accused was among the 200 people who ordered such a wig there at the time in question.
Revision still possible
He was eventually arrested. He has been in custody since the end of July last year. The verdict is not yet legally binding. The accused can appeal to the Federal Court of Justice within one week. The public prosecutor’s office could do the same, but doesn’t want to do it. A dm lawyer expressed her satisfaction: “Our claim is fully granted.” In the last word, the accused expressed a wish: he would like to do an electrical apprenticeship while in prison. That’s what he can do and what interests him. He doesn’t want to go back to the nursing profession, which he believes drove him to action.
on LG Karlsruhe, judgment of April 14, 2023
Editor beck-aktuell, Susanne Kupke, April 14, 2023 (dpa).