Bestensee is looking for a new treasurer: abuse of office causes excitement!

Bestensee is looking for a new treasurer: abuse of office causes excitement!

in Bestensee, a community that has come into the focus of the public in the past few weeks, Mayor Roland Holm (independent) urgently needs a new treasurer. The previous treasurer, Heimo Ludwig, was sentenced to nine months of imprisonment by the district court of Cottbus for falsification of documents. Although this sentence was suspended on probation, Ludwig announced that he wanted to rest until there is a final judgment. This becomes the search for a successor to the “new construction site” for Mayor Holm, who emphasizes the urgency due to the complex budget problems of the community, such as maz-online.de reported.

Heimo Ludwig must also pay a fine of 6,000 euros to the state treasury. His defender, Uwe Freyschmidt, has already announced that it would appeal to an appeal. Until then, Ludwig is temporarily released from his tasks as a treasurer and has no more access to financial documents. For him, a different job comparable under office is promised in which he does not bear any personnel or financial responsibility. It could be the care of ongoing projects.

corruption in focus

The condemnation of Ludwig raises questions about corruption that is not only an issue in Bestensee. Corruption, which is to be understood as a misuse of a public office, is a widespread problem. According to a survey of 2024, 66 percent of citizens perceive corruption in national public institutions, while 62 percent assess local organizations as affected. In Germany, around 3,840 corruption offenses were recorded in 2023, which corresponds to an increase of 7 percent compared to the previous year. Almost half of these offenses occurred in the economic sector, such as [Statista.com] (https://de.statista.com/themen/7695/corruption-in-Deutschland/).

The most common forms of corruption are bribery and bribery, both of which are already punishable, even if no concrete illegal behavior has to be demonstrated. Even if the damage determined by corruption is 57 million euros, the high number of unreported cases must be taken into account. Germany lies in 15th out of 180 states in the international ranking for corruption perception in the public sector - a decline of 6 places compared to the previous year.

political consequences

Mayor Holm plans to exchange ideas with Anja Kolbatz-Thiel, the chairman of the municipal council and the parliamentary group leader. He confirms that applications are dealt with by community representatives for the process "as normal". It is important that Ludwig is considered an employee and not an election officer, which distinguishes the situation from other high -ranking administrative employees who have been elected. This shows that the municipality of Bestensee is in a special location, as lr-online.de shows.

The coming weeks and months will be crucial to clarify how financial stability and trust in the Bestensee community will develop. The search for a new treasurer not only has an impact on the administration, but could also have far -reaching political consequences.