A German banker who stole money from rich clients to help the poor has been sentenced to two years and 10 months in prison.
The 45-year-old, dubbed by German media as a modern day Robin Hood, diverted €2.1m to clients he felt were needy while holding a senior position at a savings bank in the southern region of Tauberfranken.
‘The accused undertook these actions to grant liquidity to clients who, in his view, were short of money and who no longer got loans under the usual money market conditions,’ said a statement issued by the court in the southern town of Mosbach.
But the man soon lost track of the funds he had misappropriated, as well as where they had come from, it added.
A spokeswoman for the court said the man had not enriched himself during the scam. His scheme was uncovered when he turned himself in to police in 2006.
Prosecutors said the man managed to plug some of the financial holes he had created, so that the net losses to the Sparkasse Tauberfranken bank were ultimately some €640,000.
The court said the man had made a full confession to the five-year ruse, which ended in January last year. He has the right to appeal the court's decision.
