Eichstätt (dpa / lby) - In the scandal surrounding questionable real estate investments in the USA in the amount of around 60 million US dollars, the diocese of Eichstätt has reached a settlement. The Upper Bavarian diocese spoke of a "breakthrough" on Friday. By the summer, around 18 million dollars (18.5 million euros) would flow back to Bavaria. The diocese had filed a claim for damages against a project developer in Dallas.
With the new payments, the diocese would have received back a total of $39 million, according to its own statements. The diocese put the cost of the legal dispute in the mid-single-digit million range, meaning that the financial damage to the church would ultimately be less than $30 million.
The public prosecutor's office had brought charges against three suspects because of the financial scandal in the summer after several years of investigation. In particular, the former deputy finance director of the diocese is accused of infidelity. The investigators assumed damage of more than 45 million US dollars in the indictment.
The defense attorney for the former deputy finance director has repeatedly denied the allegations of breach of trust. Lawyer Ulrich Ziegert emphasized that the diocese leadership itself had called for risky investments in order to achieve high returns. A date for a trial at the District Court of Munich II is not yet known.
