DW-World.de
Deutsche Welle

A German court has given a real estate agent a two-year, suspended prison sentence for tax evasion at the end of the first trial in a massive probe into the so-called Liechtenstein affair. The 66-year-old man was accused of evading taxes to the tune of about € 7.5 million between 2001 and 2006 by stashing money away in a bank account in Lichtenstein, a tiny principality in Western Europe. The case is part of an investigation of more than 700 suspects who allegedly hid money in Liechtenstein accounts to avoid paying taxes in Germany. The probe was made public in February after the home of then Deutsche Post chief executive Klaus Zumwinkel was searched. Zumwinkel subsequently resigned.