The public prosecutor’s office had accused the star chef of suspected tax evasion in the millions.
(Photo: dpa)
Munich Alfons Schuhbeck stood alone in the courtroom for a few minutes this Thursday. His defense attorneys spoke to the prosecutor, and the celebrity chef and entrepreneur tore his hair. His desperate gaze went up, but here in the Munich Palace of Justice, neither divine mercy nor his confessions in the prison trial saved him.
The Munich I Regional Court sentenced the 73-year-old to three years and two months in prison without probation on Thursday for tax evasion. Schuhbeck still has the option of appealing the verdict.
After an initial silence, the restaurateur recalled manipulating the cash register sales of his Munich restaurants “Orlando” and “Südtiroler Stuben”, artificially discounting the sales and massively cheating the tax authorities.
Prosecutor Susanne Gehrke-Haibl had previously demanded a prison sentence of four years and two months. The process proved that Schuhbeck had evaded taxes amounting to millions, the prosecutor said in her plea. Schuhbeck was found guilty of serious tax evasion in 21 cases and showed “a very high level of criminal energy”.
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In principle, the court followed the prosecutor’s office. The court considered it proven that Schuhbeck evaded taxes totaling around 2.3 million euros. The income in the two restaurants was reduced by more than two million euros each, i.e. by more than four million in total.
Schuhbeck draws a line
Schuhbeck, who was 20 kilograms thin, took the verdict and the media hype with a blank stare, only occasionally his feet wobbled. Shortly before the verdict, he announced again that he would take full responsibility. “I know what I did was wrong,” said Schuhbeck. He asked his lawyers “not to pursue their concerns any further.” A line.
The judge’s announcement was too clear: It can be assumed that both the “Orlando” and the “Stuben” had been manipulated in a similar way for years, according to Andrea Wagner, even if things are only crystal clear in the “Orlando”.
The former Bayern boss also had to answer for tax evasion.
(Photo: imago images/Weißfuss)
The fact that between 2010 and 2014, on Fridays and Saturdays when sales in the star restaurant “Stuben” were particularly high, a particularly large number of invoice amounts disappeared does not indicate a computer error, explained Wagner. One is not prepared to make any “deductions”.
She read the emotional Pro-Schuhbeck letter to an employee “so that it doesn’t look so bad” and even addressed the author directly in the hall, “even if we’re not in the television court here”.
There is no transfer from an investor
Schuhbeck’s lawyers, Markus Gotzens and Sascha König, repeatedly pointed out the technical shortcomings of the outdated cash register system at the “Südtiroler Stuben”. It also became clear that they waited in vain until the last minute for a large transfer from an investor to settle the damage caused.
The defense pleaded for a suspended sentence because of his confession, his remorse and his life’s work. Schuhbeck is not a greedy millionaire, but has tried to maintain his group of companies for the past ten years. His confession was not “tactically motivated” either, as stated by the prosecutor.
The defense’s request for an extended lunch break delayed the announcement of the verdict, which the judge was keen to speak. Room 134 had to be cleared in the afternoon because of “an important event”. The hall is now permanently free again. Instead of the scheduled 18 days of negotiations, it only took four to reach the verdict. The chef’s hat crime was too obvious.
More: “Money diverted for craftsmen”: Schuhbeck admits further manipulations – imprisonment is more likely