The main suspect is accused of having organized and run a fraud network largely based on fake bills for transport and logistics costs. Thus, the company could be billed for services such as courier transports, deliveries for mail centres, or special tours, even though they had never occurred.

Three other men and one woman are accused of having been complicit and of aiding and abetting the crime. All four were managers of external service providers who would send a part of the sums paid to them by the Axel Springer company back to the main suspect.

The 58-year-old had been a leading figure in the company for years and “used his insights into the business area that he was responsible for, his knowledge of the internal auditing procedures, as well as his position and the associated power of singing off bills,” the accusation states.

German suspects are often not named due to privacy laws.

Axel Springer filed a lawsuit against a subsidiary due to irregularities in 2013, as was reported by German newspapers Bild and Welt at the time.

A spokesperson for the company said that they had “fully cooperated” with the authorities.

The main suspect is accused of 293 counts of fraud and embezzlement between 2009 and 2013. Overall, the financial damage caused in this period is estimated at nearly €6.5 million ($7.1 million).