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Alfons Schuhbeck confessed
Photo: CHRISTOF STACHE / AFP
The star chef Alfons Schuhbeck, accused of tax evasion, has made an extensive confession before the Munich I Regional Court.
"I did some things wrong," he said.
»I fooled myself, my friends and acquaintances and also my defense lawyers until the very end because I didn't want to admit that my business had failed.«
He "repeatedly used the opportunity to reduce sales and thereby took money out of the register," said Schuhbeck about his Orlando restaurant.
In the Südtiroler Stuben restaurant, on the other hand, he was not even able to use the cash register and could not explain how money had disappeared there.
Tax evasion of more than 2.3 million euros
He could not rule out that sales were not given there either.
Schuhbeck admitted that he had to bear the tax consequences as managing director for this restaurant as well.
The public prosecutor accuses the 73-year-old of using a computer program to smuggle revenue past the tax office.
In total, there are more than 2.3 million euros in taxes that Schuhbeck is said to have evaded between 2009 and 2016.
Schuhbeck confirmed that this tool existed.
The statements made by his former IT specialist, who weighed heavily on his boss at the start of the trial last week, are "largely correct."
Schuhbeck said he couldn't explain where all the money went.
He "above all plugged financial gaps and supported my children in their education."
He wanted to enable them to study, which he was unable to complete himself.
"I didn't squander the money on a life of luxury (...)," says Schuhbeck.
"I don't play either." He doesn't have "other vices" either.
"I haven't buried any foreign accounts or anything else."
svs/dpa/AFP