Accusations leveled against the ex-Minister Scheuer
In a significant development, the Berlin Public Prosecutor's Office has officially charged former Federal Minister of Transport Andreas Scheuer with the alleged offense of perjury. This charge is in connection with a committee of inquiry investigating the automobile toll controversy, a prestige project of the CSU during the black-red federal government.
The charges were filed due to a long-standing investigation that was initiated in May 2022, following suspicions that Scheuer and former State Secretary Gerhard Schulz had deliberately given false testimony in the Bundestag's investigative committee.
The investigation was sparked by several criminal complaints from private individuals. The trial for Scheuer will take place before the Regional Court, as stated by the Public Prosecutor's Office.
The accusation against Scheuer has been pursued legally since 2022. The opposition had accused him of serious errors in budget and procurement law to the detriment of taxpayers.
At the heart of the controversy is the Pkw-Maut, a project that Scheuer had initiated before legal certainty existed at the ECJ. The Pkw-Maut was stopped by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) as illegal in June 2019. As a result, the German state had to pay 243 million euros in damages to the originally intended operators due to the Maut debacle. This was the outcome of a settlement after a arbitration procedure.
In response to the charges, Scheuer stated that he had testified truthfully before the investigative committee in May 2022. He was initially not available for a request from the German Press Agency.
In an interview with the "Bild" newspaper, Scheuer expressed that the decision to file charges is incomprehensible to him and that the motives and timing appear to be politically motivated. He also mentioned that the filing of charges is happening during the "summer lull".
After resigning from his Bundestag mandate in April 2024, Scheuer founded a consulting firm. It remains to be seen how this development will unfold in the coming months.
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