In 2017, the board of directors of the Württembergische Remstalkellerei cooperative in Weinstadt sat on the back of a swindler and handed him gold bars worth about 35,000 euros as an advance commission payment. After a turbulent general meeting in which the events became known, the entire board of directors as well as the supervisory board resigned a few days ago, with the exception of one member.
In 2017, the then chairman of the board, wine merchant Claus Mannschreck, negotiated with allegedly responsible persons of a Latvian trading company about the export of large quantities of wine. They were to be sold to international hotel chains and customers in Middle Eastern countries. Mannschreck told the newspaper "Stuttgarter Zeitung" that the fraudsters had acted "highly professionally with market knowledge, tax number and identity papers". The detailed talks, which had already dealt with fillings and collection conditions, had dragged on for several months. There had also been meetings abroad. "They made a real effort to deceive us", said Mannschreck.
To initiate the deal, the alleged business partners had demanded and received 35,000 euros in gold bars in advance. The fraudsters then disappeared from the scene.
According to reports in the Rems-Murr-Zeitung, the supervisory board of Genossenenshaft had already been informed about the fraud in autumn 2017. However, the members had been forced to sign a confidentiality agreement. "They would have been liable with private assets if it had become public that the board of directors had been the victim of fraudsters who had been paid commission in advance in gold bars."
Meanwhile, the Stuttgart public prosecutor's office is investigating the case after several people reported it.
(uka)