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German Federal States — News — Hamburg — Subordination — Aurubis — men — Metal industry — Metals — Germany — Process (Court) — Noble metal — Criminality — Copper — District Court — Fraud process — Public Prosecutor's Office

Process regarding valuable scrap - Lawyer complaints about allegations

Before the court stand a material tester and two suppliers. They are alleged to have defrauded Hamburg copper manufacturer Aurubis of millions. The defense criticizes the prosecution.

,   and  Lauren Adams
3 min read
A defendant covers his face with a folder in the Hamburg Regional Court. Two suppliers and an...
A defendant covers his face with a folder in the Hamburg Regional Court. Two suppliers and an inspector are suspected of defrauding Hamburg's copper producer Aurubis for millions.

Hamburg Regional Court - Process regarding valuable scrap - Lawyer complaints about allegations

In a fraud case involving manipulated scrap at Aurubis in Hamburg, a defense lawyer has sharply criticized the prosecution. The trial, which began on a Monday, involves three men who are accused of defrauding Aurubis of over 15 million Euros. The defendants, who are two suppliers, a father (70) and a son (45), and a material tester (63), are charged with common and commercial fraud in 47 cases. The son is charged with aiding and abetting fraud in twelve cases. The alleged offenses are said to have taken place between April 2012 and August 2016. The court has set dates through the end of January 2025.

Prosecution: Scrap was overpriced and sold to Aurubis

Aurubis purchases scrap, including electronic scrap, and extracts copper and precious metals from it. The material tester is accused of falsifying the value of the scrap by scattering gold and silver powder over samples. This led to buyers from Aurubis reportedly paying excessively high amounts for the scrap from the accused suppliers. The suppliers allegedly provided the tester with computer motherboards, among other things.

According to the prosecution, there were several meetings in Lower Saxony, in the Osnabrück region. The father reportedly gave the material tester a total of over 100,000 Euros and two gold bars as payment for his actions.

Defense: No damage will be proven

The defense attorney for the material tester criticized in his opening statement that it was not observed that the material tester manipulated the scrap. In this trial, no damage will be proven, the lawyer said. It cannot be proven from images how valuable a mixed pile of 25-ton scrap is. "We cannot look into scrap heaps." It is also unknown how many meetings there were between the defendants. No observation of the transfer of money and gold bars was made.

The defense attorney also criticized Aurubis and the prosecution directly. Aurubis is accused of putting pressure on the prosecution to bring about a trial. Two other defense attorneys also expressed criticism of the indictment. A spokesperson for Aurubis confirmed on inquiry that the company comments on ongoing proceedings in general terms.

Judgment in February for gold and silver thefts

Aurubis has been a target of criminals in the past. A trial involving gold and silver thefts at Aurubis ended at the Hamburg District Court in February. The damages from the 2020 and 2021 thefts are estimated to be around ten million Euros. The thieves stole intermediate and by-products that contained silver and gold. The District Court sentenced five of the six defendants to prison terms; one defendant received a probation sentence. The main defendant lived in the vicinity of Stade. Aurubis states that there is no connection between the cases.

The trial is scheduled to continue on Thursday at 9:30 am, according to a court spokeswoman. Then, an expert witness is to be summoned.

  1. The fraud case under investigation at the Hamburg District Court involves Aurubis, a significant player in Germany's metal industry, specifically dealing with scrap, including electronic scrap, for copper and precious metals extraction.
  2. The defense lawyer for one of the accused has expressed dissatisfaction with the prosecution's approach, asserting that no damage will be proven in the trial.
  3. Aurubis, amidst allegations of manipulated scrap, has been accused of putting pressure on the public prosecutor's office to proceed with the trial.
  4. The material tester, one of the three men on trial, is accused of falsifying the value of scrap by adding gold and silver powder to samples, leading to excessively high prices paid by Aurubis.
  5. The prosecution alleges that the defendants, including two suppliers and a material tester, defrauded Aurubis of over 15 million Euros through common and commercial fraud in 47 cases, with the son aiding in another 12 cases.
  6. In a parallel case, the Hamburg District Court handed down judgments in February 2023, sentencing five of six defendants for gold and silver thefts at Aurubis, with estimated damages totaling around ten million Euros.
  7. In this ongoing trial, the focus is shifting towards an expert witness who will testify on Thursday at 9:30 am, as per the court spokeswoman's update.

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