How an ex-manager at Axel Springer apparently embezzled millions

Hamburg, Berlin It was about expensive hotel suites, “black boxes” or luxury apartments on Potsdamer Platz: At times, the lawsuit against a manager and up to six logistics companies, who defrauded the Axel Springer publishing house of a fortune with faked bills, offered thrilling material like a Netflix Series. The process was a journey through time to the early years of CEO Mathias Döpfner, who played a role in it, as did his former deputy, ex-Springer board member and supervisory board member Rudolf Knepper.

What particularly caught the eye was how the criminals were able to suck millions of euros out of the group largely undisturbed over the years. Employees who became skeptical complied instead of raising their concerns. It wasn’t until 2013 that a tip from a whistleblower put an abrupt end to the hustle and bustle.