Münster (dpa / lnw) - The public prosecutor's office in Münster has brought charges against the former mayor of the municipality of Ostbevern and an entrepreneur. The accusation is of taking advantage and forging documents. The investigators accuse a contractor from Münster of granting advantages, the authority announced on Monday in Münster. The background to the indictment is the sale of land in a new development area. In November 2019, the then mayor is said to have sold to a close friend and business partner on behalf of the municipality. A day-care center should be built.
According to the indictment, the buyer is said to have been given preference in the award of a comparatively low purchase price of 351,000 euros. The buyer is said to have planned to use the project profitably 25 years after the property was earmarked for a day-care center. According to the indictment, the financial benefits for the mayor amount to 82,500 euros. The conversation is said to have been a much higher sum of 300,000 euros. So far, according to the public prosecutor's office, there has been no proof.
The former mayor has not yet commented on the allegation to the investigators. He is presumed innocent until convicted.
The district of Warendorf, as the supervisory authority, announced on Monday that the district administrator had initiated disciplinary proceedings against the former mayor Wolfgang Annen (CDU) parallel to the indictment. The CDU politician was in office until 2020 and was then replaced by Karl Piochowiak (independent) after a narrow election defeat.
The district court of Münster has to decide whether to admit the indictment.
