Osnabrück (DPA) — An ex-entrepreneur from Emsland has had to answer in court in Osnabrück since Tuesday over a suspected fraud of millions with fake wind power projects.

Along with the 31-year-old, three members of his family and a business partner are facing charges. At the start of the trial in the regional court, the Public Prosecutor’s Office filed a charge of gang and commercial fraud against the accused. (Context: 2 KL 1/21). The main defendant was arrested last year at the luxury Hotel Adlon in Berlin.

The public prosecutor reported a loss of about ten million euros. The defendant is said to have defrauded international trade partners for several years with forged documents regarding the allegedly planned wind farms in Lower Saxony. The victims were German subsidiaries of energy companies in Italy, the Czech Republic and Scotland. The companies paid upfront for the alleged development moves.

The prosecutor said that the defendants did not intend to actually complete the projects. Instead, he is said to have falsified dozens of contracts for land use or letters of support from municipalities. They put the wrong certificates into a virtual data room in which customers can track the perceived progress.

The main defendant has also been charged with a particularly serious case of fraud. A German wind power company is said to have been duped for over 100,000 euros. The regional court has scheduled 52 trial days till January 2022.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210831-99-36193/2