May 13, 2026, 12:36 p.mMay 13, 2026, 12:36 p.m
According to a “Krone” report, the suspect in the blackmail attempt against the German baby food manufacturer Hipp is said to have falsified salary confirmations in the past in order to obtain large loans. In response to an APA inquiry on Wednesday, the 39-year-old’s lawyer confirmed that his client had received better conditions from the bank “with less than honest means.”
The Eisenstadt public prosecutor’s office did not comment on this. The suspect, who has been in custody at the Eisenstadt prison since last week, is a former Hipp employee whose employment relationship is said to have been terminated by mutual agreement.
He sent threatening letters an hour before his release
According to the newspaper report from Wednesday, which refers to evaluations of his former work computer, he is said to have falsified his pay slips and used them to obtain loans from a Slovakian bank. Among other things, he used the money to buy a property in Salzburg shortly before his arrest. The threatening letter to Hipp was sent an hour before his dismissal interview.
In response to an APA inquiry, lawyer Manfred Arbacher-Stöger explained that “one or two pay slips” had been changed. This is not fraud, because his client was able to service the loans normally: “He got better conditions as a result, with less than honest means.”
Lawyer convinced of innocence
The lawyer said he would have gotten the loans anyway with his actual salary. He remained convinced that the investigation “will reveal my client’s innocence.” So far “nothing has been found”. The rat poison seized during the house search was also different from the one found in the Hipp jar, said Arbacher-Stöger.
The suspect has been in custody for just over a week. The detention review will take place after 14 days next Tuesday. There was no new information from the Eisenstadt public prosecutor’s office on Wednesday. The Slovak-born man is currently being investigated for attempted serious blackmail, intentional endangerment of the public and attempted intentional serious bodily harm.
The Hipp glass seized in the Austrian state of Burgenland contained 15 micrograms of rat poison. According to a report, consumption would not have been life-threatening. However, the dose was high enough to cause health effects. (sda/apa)