Niels Stolberg , the former boss of the now defunct Bremen project shipping line, Beluga, was sentenced yesterday to three and a half years in jail for fraud. Three other former senior managers received suspended sentences after the two-year court case finally reached a conclusion.
According to the court, Stolberg faked several banks with bloated bills for new ships.
Judge Monika Schaefer, in handing out the lengthy sentence, said Stolberg had used a “substantial amount of criminal energy”.
Stolberg, suffering from cancer, said he had made mistakes that he regretted. “I’ve lost everything – my life’s work, my reputation, my health,” he said.
Beluga went bankrupt in 2011.
