• They transferred public funds to personal accounts

• Investigations involve hundreds of alleged theft incidents

German authorities have arrested a parking attendant and his wife on suspicion of embezzling over one million euros from parking meters in the small town of Kempten.

Local police said the unnamed municipal employee repeatedly removed coins from parking meters and deposited them into bank accounts accessible by his wife.

A money laundering report from a financial institution alerted investigators to the suspected theft.

The attendant faces charges related to 720 alleged theft incidents, while his wife faces charges of aiding and abetting theft in the same number of cases.

Kempten Mayor Thomas Kiechle said he was “stunned and dismayed” by the allegations.

In October, the Kempten public prosecutor’s office was informed of repeated cash deposits into several bank accounts, according to a German news agency.

Police searched the office premises in the early hours of November 24, the same day the 40-year-old man and 38-year-old woman were arrested.

They are currently held in separate detention facilities, and it is unclear how long it took the couple to accumulate the money.

In response, Mayor Kiechle announced the formation of a commission “to review past procedures, identify potential weaknesses, and reliably address them for the future.”

He noted that the couple’s names cannot currently be released due to the ongoing investigation and privacy concerns.

In a written statement, Kiechle said, “I fully support the public prosecutor’s office and the police in their thorough investigation of the allegations.”

He added, “Until proceedings are concluded, the presumption of innocence applies.”

Kempten is one of Germany’s oldest towns, located in the south under the Allgäu hills, with a population of about 70,000.