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In a statement, the Rheingau luxury hotel Kronenschlösschen in Eltville vehemently defends itself against media reports that the burglary in its wine cellar in January may have been committed by insiders from within the hotel. At that time, 216 bottles worth about 240,000 euros were stolen. The Hessischer Rundfunk as well as several daily newspapers had reported that the Wiesbaden public prosecutor's office, which is investigating the case, meanwhile suspects "a possible inside job". This was the result of "indications from outside", senior public prosecutor Andreas Winckelmann told the Bild-Zeitung, which had first reported on the matter. Investigators had searched the Kronenschlösschen several times, as well as the living quarters of the owner, the manager and a sommelier.
The public prosecutor's office had confirmed to the hr on request that there were "great doubts about the version of the hotel manager". The initially stated damage amount of 350,000 to 450,000 euros was also questionable. In addition, the traces of the crime scene were "unusual for such a burglary". It is not clear how the perpetrators were able to find the expensive bottles in the cellar with 70,000 bottles of wine and sparkling wine without leaving clear traces.
In her statement, a Kronenschlösschen spokeswoman now said that the alleged tips had come to the public prosecutor from the Gothaer insurance company. With them, the wine cellar is insured up to a sum of 1.75 million euros. "The insurance company called in an expert office, which checked the stocks and inventories on site for two days and, after many hundreds of random checks, found that these inventories were conclusive within a few days before and after the burglary," the hotel spokeswoman writes. "This was confirmed in writing by the experts commissioned by the insurance company. Nevertheless, the Gothaer insurance company refused to settle the claim, and without giving any reason."
In mid-March, the Kronenschlösschen had filed a civil suit against the Gothaer insurance company at the Wiesbaden Regional Court for about 240,000 euros. The house searches had only taken place "after Gothaer Versicherung filed a criminal complaint on suspicion of fraud". In the complaint, "the suspicion was expressed that the owner and the managing director, in cooperation with an employee, had faked and committed the burglary themselves, sold the wines to their own customers and then planned to collect the insurance value additionally". "This accusation is completely absurd," the hotel's statement said. "People with absolute integrity are being accused of a serious crime, and this exclusively with vague, completely absurd insinuations, - without a single concrete suspicion. Gothaer has tried to evade its regulatory obligations from the very beginning," says Hans B. Ullrich, owner of the Kronenschlösschen, defending himself against the accusations.
The investigations by the public prosecutor's office are continuing.
(uka / Photo: Kronenschlösschen)