Germany: Couple admits €1.9 million parking meter thefts

A couple accused of stealing millions from parking meters in Bavaria fully confessed at the start of their trial on Tuesday.

The pair, one of whom was employed to empty the machines, admitted to a decade-long scheme that allegedly netted nearly €1.9 million.

What were the allegations?

The 40-year-old male defendant told the court at the Kempten Regional Court he deeply regretted his actions and said the charges were entirely accurate.

Prosecutors had alleged the former city employee, with help from his 39-year-old wife, stole around €1.9 million ($2.2 million) over a decade. The pair, in custody since November, face charges of commercial theft, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The man had been responsible for emptying parking meters in the popular scenic region of Allgäu. The couple is accused of depositing the coins into private accounts and converting them into supermarket vouchers. Between 2020 and 2025 alone, they are said to have stolen €1.34 million in 335 separate cases.

The male defendant gave extensive testimony, answering the court's questions in detail, Germany's Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported. He said he had initially taken small amounts of change from so-called coin piles home with him. Eventually, the amounts he took increased. "At some point, it became self-perpetuating, a vicious cycle," he told the court.

More than 500 additional cases dating back to 2015 are now time-barred and cannot be prosecuted. However, authorities are seeking to confiscate nearly €584,000 linked to those alleged offenses as well, bringing the total amount prosecutors aim to recover to about €1.9 million.

Witnesses who worked for the municipality could not explain how the defendant repeatedly accessed a key to open the cash boxes — an issue still unresolved in court.

How did the thefts come to light?

The case became known in November when a bank alerted investigators on suspicion of money laundering after repeated suspicious cash deposits.

Missing funds had occasionally been noticed, and a local bank had previously questioned the frequent coin deposits, but staff had accepted the couple's evasive explanations.

As a result of the investigation, the city of Kempten has changed its parking management system. Locks have been replaced, additional checks introduced, and an external service provider commissioned.

However, the money that was taken is gone, the Süddeutsche Zeitung said, citing the 39-year-old defendant. The couple reportedly owned a horse farm, expensive cars, bags, shoes, and clothes.

"Our standard of living was very high; we spent everything," she said.

Even when the couple's relationship ended in August 2025, the 40-year-old testified, he gave his long-term partner one last settlement: €15,000 in coins.

Edited by: Roshni Majumdar