Suspicion of bribery: Crime involving a parcel post delivery person

Suspicion confirmed

“Overall, the suspicion against all of the accused has been confirmed. The statements made by the freight forwarder A. (name changed), according to which he handed over 20,000 euros to the freight forwarder K. to be forwarded to the postal employee, now appear just as credible thanks to the evaluation of the data found as the handover of the Cartier watch to the postal employee in front of a camera on the postal premises,” says the BAK investigation file from December 18th 2025. “However, due to contradictory statements from freight forwarder K., there is a suspicion that the cash received from freight forwarder A. was not passed on to the postal official, but was retained and freight forwarder A. was deceived.”

The freight forwarder K., who is said to have arranged the parcel tours as a middleman, was personally bankrupt at the time of the alleged crime. “It is clear from the deposit confirmations found in accounts that apparently belong to the family of the middleman K. that considerable sums of cash flowed,” the investigation file further states.

Postal display

It all started in May 2024, when an external parcel carrier contacted the postal manager via the whistleblower system with the information that he paid 1.47 cents per parcel, i.e. one percent of sales, to a postal employee for a certain period of time for the allocation of delivery tours, according to a postal complaint to the WKStA.

Another external freight forwarder stated that he had “handed over a sum of money of 80,000 euros to an intermediary who worked as a freight forwarder for the postal service to take on eleven tours, half of which was passed on to the postal employee in question.”

Arrangement of tours paid

“He then received tours as a freight forwarder and was thus able to work for the post office,” the complaint says. The third freight forwarder, A., stated that he “paid 20,000 euros to the middleman K. in question for arranging tours,” it goes on to say. The tours were later withdrawn from him. He then claims to have given the postal employee in question a Cartier watch worth 5,800 euros.

“We arranged to meet at a postal warehouse. After about half an hour, I gave him the gift and thanked him for his help,” said freighter A. in a statement to investigators. “It was a black bag from Bucherer. He took the bag, thanked me and then I drove away.” Afterwards, freighter A. was supposedly able to drive his tours again.

Allegations denied

“I firmly reject the allegations made against me. At no time have I accepted any kind of benefits to favor carriers or other people,” counters the postal employee during his interrogation of the accused. “I did not accept a watch or any other gifts from Freighter A.”

Accusations out of revenge?

“Why should the freight forwarder A. expose himself to the risk of criminal prosecution for bribery if the allegations are not true?” the investigators asked the suspected postal employee.

“I see the loss of orders as a possible reason. The background was that there were allegations of defects against the company,” said the postal worker. “I see the allegations made against me as revenge for quality deficiencies that have been identified or for canceled tours.”

“The investigations are continuing, with the intention being, among other things, to question all of the accused again,” says an interim report from the BAK investigators. “In parallel, the confiscated data will continue to be viewed.”