Parking inspector and wife arrested for €1m meter theft

A parking inspector and his wife have been arrested on suspicion of embezzling more than €1m (£878,000) from a small German town's parking meters.

The unnamed municipal employee is thought to have taken coins out of parking meters in Kempten "on numerous occasions" and placed them in bank accounts that his wife had access to, local police said in a statement.

A money laundering report by a credit institution alerted investigators to the suspected theft. The inspector faces charges relating to 720 alleged incidents of theft, while his wife faces charges of aiding and abetting theft, also in 720 cases.

Kempten Mayor Thomas Kiechle said he was "stunned and dismayed" by the allegations.

In October, the Kempten public prosecutor's office was informed that cash was repeatedly being deposited into several bank accounts, according to the German news agency DPA.

Police then searched office premises in the early hours of 24 November, the same day that the 40-year-old man and 38-year old woman were arrested.

They are now being held in separate detention facilities.

It is not clear how long it might have taken the couple to accrue the sum.

In response to the allegations, Kiechle announced the appointment of a commission to "review past work processes, uncover potential weaknesses, and reliably remedy them for the future."

Kiechle noted that the names of the couple could not currently be released due to the ongoing investigation and privacy concerns.

In a written statement, Kiechle said: "I naturally support the public prosecutor's office and the police in their thorough investigation of the allegations."

"Until the proceedings are concluded, the presumption of innocence applies," he added.

Kempten is one of the oldest settlements in Germany. Located in the country's south, it sits under the hills of the Allgäu and has around 70,000 residents.