The Hessian chairman of the tax union, Michael Volz, is facing accusations of having incorrectly accounted for travel expenses. The public prosecutor's office in Hanau told the F.A.Z. on Friday that it was investigating fraud on the initial suspicion. This was "a completely normal process" after a criminal complaint was received on Wednesday. It comes from the Hessian Ministry of Finance, as its spokesman confirmed. The national association of the tax union rejects the allegations.

Ewald Hetrodt

Correspondent of the Rhein-Main-Zeitung in Wiesbaden.

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Volz is employed as a tax officer in Gelnhausen and has been at the head of the lobby of his profession since 2009. In March of this year, he was confirmed in office in a competitive vote. According to him, extensive documents have now been leaked to the Ministry of Finance, which have been examined under service law.

On the basis of reliable audit results, criminal charges had to be filed in one of two investigated complexes, the ministry spokesman said. According to a report in the "Frankfurter Rundschau", Volz is said to have settled the travel expenses on six days last year for one and the same date with both the tax office and the union.

Union: Case has already been examined once

The tax union recalled that the issue of travel expenses had already been examined in the course of a closed investigation. Both the national chairman and other leaders of the union had correctly separated between official and voluntary activities. The state of Hesse and the union had not suffered any damage. "We assume that this situation will not change even with a new examination," said the spokesman for the union.

This is an intrigue designed to weaken the union and its commitment to the interests of the financial workers. This assessment is supported by the actions of the Ministry of Finance. This is because travel expenses would not be billed to the state, but to the union. This raises the question of why the Ministry of Finance has filed a complaint about this.

The spokesman for the ministry emphasized the duty of good conduct under civil service law. It requires civil servants, both inside and outside the service, to live up to the respect and trust that their profession requires. The legislature requires all its civil servants to behave in accordance with the law.

In this respect, the Ministry of Finance and the Tax Office investigated indications of possible misconduct by employees. The country is only concerned with the clarification of a fact. "Accusations to the contrary are completely unfounded," the spokesman emphasized. They act in accordance with the law. "Whether the employee did the same in the case in question is now being clarified by the public prosecutor's office."