Lawyer: "lateral thinking" initiator Ballweg remains in custody

Created: 08/19/2022, 16:36

Michael Ballweg, initiator of the "lateral thinking" initiative, speaks at a protest rally.

© Christoph Schmidt/dpa/archive image

The initiator of the "lateral thinking" movement, Michael Ballweg, remains in custody after a detention review.

This was announced by the lawyer Alexander Christ on Friday.

The Stuttgart district court had previously decided to uphold the arrest warrant, said Christ, who took over media work for Ballweg within a team of lawyers.

Stuttgart - The district court and the public prosecutor's office in Stuttgart could not be reached on Friday afternoon.

According to Christ, the defense team wants to “make a statement at short notice after evaluating and justifying”.

The lawyers for the 47-year-old had previously requested the detention review.

After a detention review date last Monday, the Stuttgart district court initially did not make a decision, but made use of a one-week deadline.

The public prosecutor's office in Stuttgart is investigating Ballweg for fraud and money laundering.

He has been in custody since June 29 because of the risk of absconding.

According to the authorities, a search at the end of June revealed concrete evidence that Ballweg wanted to sell his assets abroad.

According to information from judicial circles, there is a suspicion of fraud in the amount of around 640,000 euros and money laundering in the amount of around 430,000 euros.

dpa