Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) - With only 18.32 euros in the account, a businessman is said to have tried to buy a former prison in Herne. This Friday (11.45 a.m.) the 47-year-old has to answer to the Düsseldorf district court for forgery of documents.
Because the seller, the state-owned real estate company BLB, insisted that the prospective customer from Düsseldorf prove his purchasing power, the accused is said to have presented a manipulated bank statement that showed him as the owner of assets of almost 1.5 million euros. In fact, the account balance at that time was 18.32 euros.
In addition, the man is said to have enclosed a photo of an EC card that identified him as the owner of an Austrian bank account. His business partner at the time is currently being held for other crimes, the court said. According to media reports, the defendant wanted to convert the former youth detention center into condominiums.
Initially, however, he did not agree with the BLB on how to use it. The purchase negotiations are said to have dragged on over the years 2017 and 2018. The old juvenile prison was supposed to change hands for around half a million euros. But it did not get to that.
