After the raid on Knaus Tabbert, the company took action and dismissed two managers from the board without notice. They are investigating both of them Public prosecutor on suspicion of corruption. The supervisory board decided to revoke the appointment of the two suspects as board members “with immediate effect for good cause due to criminal allegations,” said the company based in Jandelsbrunn, Lower Bavaria.
The Landshut public prosecutor’s office had previously searched offices and business premises at the company’s headquarters with a large contingent of over 160 police officers, and two managers are in custody. A suspect’s apartment was also searched. There were further raids in Lower Saxony, Baden-Württemberg, Saarland, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and in the Switzerland. The “Passauer Neue Presse” first reported on the search at the company headquarters.
Apparently a particularly serious case of bribery
According to the public prosecutor’s office, the suspects who are suspected of corruption are two managers and a person in charge of a Saarland investment company. They are said to have accepted bribes from individual suppliers, as the investigative authority and the police headquarters in Lower Bavaria announced. In return, the paying suppliers are said to have been given preference for individual orders.
After the allegations became known, speculation arose online that former CEO Wolfgang Speck could be among the accused. However, a spokesman for the Landshut public prosecutor’s office expressly told manager magazin that this is wrong. It is pure coincidence that Speck also runs an investment company in Saarland.
Overall, many details are still unknown – such as how much money Knaus Tabbert’s managers are said to have accepted. The only thing that is clear is that the sum involved is at least 50,000 euros, because the public prosecutor’s office is assuming a particularly serious case of bribery. The threshold for this accusation is 50,000 euros. It is also unknown when and over what period of time the crimes took place.
The operational tasks of the two top managers are to be temporarily taken over by direct employees. Knaus Tabbert is cooperating fully with the authorities in the investigation. “It is important to emphasize that the company itself is not currently accused of any wrongdoing, but rather that it is an injured party who has suffered damage,” the company says.
Unrest in the board for months
There has been considerable unrest in the company’s executive suite this year. Just a few weeks ago, the company announced that major shareholder Wim de Pundert takes the helm of the company. De Pundert is managing partner of the private equity firm HTP Investments, which holds 41 percent of Knaus Tabbert’s shares. De Pundert was previously a member of the supervisory board himself.
First, CFO Caroline Schürmann left the company in February, and then CEO Speck took over her duties – until he also left at the end of October “for personal reasons” and only two board members remained.
The extent of the damage caused is currently being examined. Given the early stage of the investigation, the company does not wish to provide any further information at this time.
Apart from that, Knaus Tabbert is struggling with a serious sales crisis, production at the company headquarters and in a Hungarian factory is currently at a standstill due to a lack of demand.