Berlin, five years in prison for Serbian businessman

A Berlin-based construction entrepreneur of Serbian origin was sentenced to five years in prison for tax evasion worth millions of dollars. In Serbia, he posed as a charity.

As the de facto director of a construction company, the convicted Serb caused damage of almost 15 million euros through illegal work, said presiding judge Christine Klimke during the reading of the verdict at the Berlin Regional Court on Thursday, July 17th.

The 53-year-old (whose name, not even his initials, are not mentioned in the German media) has relied on illegal work since the construction company was founded.

Although this is widespread in the construction industry in Germany, it cannot be said that he "did this by accident," Klimke said.

From the beginning, his goal was to transfer as much money as possible to his homeland, Serbia, and pose as a barmaid there, the judge explained, adding that the company paid workers' salaries in cash and did not report them to the competent authorities.

Assets worth over 20 million were confiscated

To explain the money flow, fictitious invoices were issued through subcontractors. An employee from this person's office was sentenced to eleven months of suspended imprisonment - among other things for forging documents. His son, who also worked for the company, was given a warning.

In addition, the court also ordered the confiscation of approximately seven million euros of assets from the main defendant and 14 million euros from the construction company.

Serious abuses in the investigation

At the same time, the judge criticized the investigators. Serious abuses were uncovered, some of which were clearly systematic and violated basic procedural rules, she said.

The General Administration of Customs, in violation of the rules, analyzed the correspondence between the defendant and his lawyer. There were also shortcomings in file management and possible violations of official duty by employees.

"State representatives must follow the rules," concluded the presiding judge, Kristin Klimke./ DW (A2 Televizion)