It's well known that money does not automatically bring happiness; but one man's wealth caused him particular unease.
Endowed with an apparent mistrust of banks he was obviously of the opinion that his gold and silver - to the value of around EUR 2.6 million - was best protected when poured into concrete and buried. He therefore hired two men to do this for him and they hid the treasure - gold and silver coins weighing more than 130 kg - in the grounds of a castle. Unfortunately, this attempt to give fast access to his fortune in case of an economic crisis turned out to be an unsuitable one from a safety precaution point of view; the two men dug up the treasure again, broke open the concrete case and left with the loot. The perpetrators divided the assets and sensibly preferred to store the coins in safe deposit boxes at banks rather than underground.
Following these events the wealthy man, who now presumably distrusts banks and people, filed a criminal complaint. The two men were convicted of burglary for breaking open a container (§ 129 (1) 2 Austrian Criminal Code) and were also convicted for money self-laundering because they themselves hid the treasure. Upon appeal, the Supreme Court examined the case and concluded that the lower instance had correctly legally assessed the facts of the case. Unfortunately it is not known to whom the man then entrusted his fortune but it may be hoped he has found a more reliable storage place in the meantime. (11Os138/17d)
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